UNABLE to travel to their favourite destinations, Greater Bendigo residents are plowing their holiday savings into backyard swimming pools as part of Australia's "revenge spending" trend.
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Since the pre-pandemic period in December 2019, $212 billion has been added to household net savings across the nation, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported.
The changes have been attributed to constrained spending ability and increased government support during COVID-19.
Director of Evolution Pools, Bendigo, Kurt Ross said many people in Greater Bendigo were turning their backyards into Bali-style retreats.
"We're at capacity through the rest of this season and into summer next year,'' he said.
"We've got bookings through to 2023. People can't holiday so they're holidaying at home.''
Mr Ross said the spending didn't stop at the pool edge, with trees and landscaping often being chosen instead of less expensive tiling options for the pool surrounds.
The ABS has estimated NSW, Victoria and the ACT spent more than half the September quarter under lockdown restrictions, constraining household spending on goods and services. Household spending in these states fell 8.4 per cent.
But, in late 2021 ABS reported that consumers had enthusiastically returned to discretionary spending, with rises in five of the industry categories. With physical stores open again, increased mobility and foot traffic led to strong rises in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (27.7 per cent), cafes restaurants and takeaway food services (12.3 per cent), department stores (22.4 per cent), household goods retailing (4.5 per cent), and other retailing (2.2 per cent).
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Echuca Moama Business 2 Business spokesman Dan Egglestone said backyard swimming pool installation had also been booming in the Campaspe region with business figures indicating an 18-month wait had become common in Echuca and Moama.
The phenomenon of revenge spending was first detected in overseas markets and the term was coined to explain the pent-up shopping sprees that followed lockdowns and work-from-home conditions in some nations.
Shopper Media Australia undertook the Closer to Home Research Study in 2021 to probe impact the pandemic was having on spending. It found Australians felt more connected to their communities than ever before and were actively choosing to support their local shopping centres and businesses. It found that 62 per cent of Australians were trying to support local business where possible.
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