New data released by ANZ this morning found national consumer spending dropped to its lowest levels since the delta lockdowns in September.
Consumer spending has plummeted to lockdown-like levels as nervous Australians avoid crowds, while supermarket bosses apologise about empty shelves, warning there could be worse shortages to come.
“The modelling today is encouraging,” Premier Dominic Perrottet said. “Whilst it will be a difficult few weeks in NSW, our people and the effort we have made to go to get vaccinated, to get boosted, has been key to opening up our society, to living alongside the virus.” “In previous incidences, you’ve had to tackle one or two of those challenges. In this instance, we’ve got all four.”Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci emailed customers on Friday morning and took out newspaper advertisements acknowledging their frustration with empty shelves of some products, attributing it to staff shortages of more than 20 per cent in its distribution centres and more than 10 per cent in stores.
Mr Plank said the omicron wave is “a bump” in Australia’s path to recovery, but its economic impact would depend on the length and severity of the current outbreak. “Australia’s consumers have faced low unemployment and strong financial confidence coming into the new year, so it’s very unlikely that this downfall has anything to do with finances,” Ms Timbrell said.