48% Of High-Income Australian Shoppers Plan to Boost Spending
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Nearly half of high-income Australian shoppers plan to increase retail spending over the next twelve months. In contrast, 43 per cent of lower-income households plan to cut purchases.
Preliminary data from the OC and C Strategy Consultants Retail Proposition Index shows 48 per cent of affluent consumers expect to spend more across core categories. Only 24 per cent of lower-income buyers said the same.
This divergence forces Australian retailers to rethink operating models built around uniform discounts. Affluent shoppers want differentiated services over price cuts. In the survey, 61 per cent said they would pay higher prices for superior quality or customer experience. Among lower-income shoppers, only 38 per cent said they would pay more for quality.
Cost Cuts Collide With Customer Retention
Widening spending gaps expose the limits of blunt restructuring programmes. Retailers that cut staff and trimmed inventories to protect margins in financial year 2026 often saw foot traffic and repeat visits erode.
Endeavour Group, operator of Dan Murphy’s and BWS, delivered 70 million Australian dollars in cost savings during FY26. Total retail sales remained flat. Dan Murphy’s dropped 10 positions on the Retail Proposition Index between 2024 and 2026, showing that cost cuts without offer improvements damage market standing.
Spending cuts alone cannot carry long-term earnings. Stripping labour or narrowing product assortment offers quick margin relief, but prolonged austerity damages shopper loyalty faster than executive teams anticipate.
Reinvestment Separates Winners in Mass Grocery
Woolworths paired restructuring with direct operational reinvestment. The supermarket major completed 400 million Australian dollars in annualised cost savings by the first half of FY26.
“In the survey, 61 per cent said they would pay higher prices for superior quality or customer experience.”
Management channelled those funds back into entry-tier price points, shelf availability, and store convenience. OC and C survey metrics show Woolworths lifted its scores on both value for money and product range between 2024 and 2026, keeping customer retention intact while lowering overheads.
Across the wider Asia-Pacific region, the contrast between Woolworths and Endeavour clarifies capital allocation rules. Removing administrative duplication or automating back-office workflows works only if freed capital protects the core customer offer.
Loyalty Schemes Fail as Revenue Substitutes
Reward programmes cannot substitute for competitive baseline offerings. Shoppers consistently ranked price, product value, and underlying quality above loyalty point balances when choosing where to make repeat purchases.
Department store operator Myer expanded its Myer One loyalty programme to 5.3 million active members in FY26. Even with that larger user base, the company’s equity valuation stayed subdued as core store productivity lagged behind specialist rivals.
Beauty specialist Mecca captured higher-spending shoppers by investing in store formats and physical services. Its flagship Melbourne store draws approximately 50,000 visitors every week by bundling product trials, consultations, and interactive brand stations into a single footprint.
Operating Pressures Ahead for Retail Boards
Executive teams entering the next financial cycle must manage two distinct consumer profiles simultaneously. Value chains need to defend entry price points and inventory availability for cash-strapped households. Premium brands must justify price tags through specialist staffing and exclusive assortments.
Mid-tier operators that fail to pick an end of the barbell face the steepest risk. Retailers caught between rising store lease expenses and an indecisive store concept face margin compression from both sides of the income spectrum.
OC and C Strategy Consultants will publish the full Australian Retail Proposition Index later this quarter, detailing brand rankings across department stores, apparel, and grocery.
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