Australian consumer confidence is continuing to rise out of recent slumps, but is likely mostly driven by End Of Financial Year (EOFY) sales.
ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence increased 2.1 points to 72.8 in late June, its highest rating for over three months since early March.
Consumer confidence is 13.9 points lower than a year ago, and now 1.6 points above the 2026 weekly average of 71.2.
The key driver of the confidence uplift was more people saying ‘it’s a good time to buy’ major household items as over 6 million Australians shop in the annual EOFY sales. Roy Morgan research shows total spending during this event could hit $10 billion.
There are also fewer people worried about the Australian economy over the next year.
Now 16 per cent (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year compared to a majority of 53 per cent (down 1ppt) that say their families are ‘worse off’.
Net views on personal finances over the next year were virtually unchanged this week with 22 per cent (up 1ppt) of respondents expecting their family will be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 43 per cent (unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’.
Regarding the economy over the next year, 6 per cent (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ compared to 42 per cent (down 4ppts) who expect ‘bad times’.
Sentiments regarding the Australian economy over the next five years were unchanged this week with 9 per cent (up 1ppt) of Australians expecting ‘good times’ for the economy over the next five years compared to almost a third, 31 per cent (up 1ppt), expecting ‘bad times’.
As for net buying intentions, this subindice improved for a sixth straight week with 22 per cent (up 3ppts) of respondents saying now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items compared to 42 per cent (down 2ppts) that say now is a ‘bad time to buy major household items’.
ANZ economist Sophia Angala said consumer confidence is at its highest level since early March, but it still remains below the 2025 average.
“The improvement was broad-based across the subindices,” Angala said. “The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex recorded the largest rise across the subindices and its sixth consecutive weekly rise, likely supported by end-of-financial-year sales events.
“Households are also feeling more confident in future economic conditions, likely due to the news of a US-Iran peace deal during the survey period.”
Across the housing cohorts, Angala said mortgage holders were the only cohort to record a decline in confidence. She said this likely reflects the RBA’s decision to hold the cash rate at 4.35 per cent last week, with the Monetary Policy Board retaining the option to hike rates should inflation prove more persistent.
“Meanwhile, renter confidence is now at its highest level since late February, prior to the escalation of conflict in the Middle East,” Angala said.
An analysis by state shows consumer confidence increased in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia, unchanged in South Australia, and down in Victoria.