Sydney’s traditional divide between suburbs that stock the pantry and suburbs that dine out is moving west.
The new Retail Property Australia report, ‘Spend Signals’, using transaction data from CommBank iQ, builds a spend map of greater Sydney that captures geographic spend trends, the type of consumer driving them today, and where tomorrow’s momentum will come from. It reveals that consumer spending on eating out is growing fastest in many of western Sydney’s historically pantry-first communities.
Food catering growth in Fairfield (up 13.2%), Auburn (up 13.1%), Canterbury (up 13.1%), Parramatta (up 12%) and Merrylands-Guildford (up 12%) is now outpacing many eastern and northern Sydney areas where dining out has traditionally led spending patterns.
Retail Property Australia Executive Director William Power says the findings reveal a broader shift in how Sydney consumers are spending.
“The pantry line gives us a new lens on Sydney’s retail economy. Traditionally, we’ve seen a higher dining out spend concentrated in the inner city and eastern suburbs, but we’re seeing that behaviour spread into growth corridors across western Sydney,” he says.
“As communities grow, attract new jobs and become more established, spending patterns evolve with them. The data shows that change is already underway.”
The report finds Sydney’s highest spending markets remain concentrated in affluent eastern and northern suburbs, led by Eastern Suburbs-North ($2293 per person per month), Manly ($2199) and North Sydney-Mosman ($2113).
However, the strongest spending growth is occurring on the other side of the city in Canterbury (up 9.4%), Parramatta (up 7.8%) and Marrickville-Sydenham-Petersham (up 7.7%).
The next wave of spending is also younger. While 30 to 49-year-olds remain Sydney’s biggest spenders, consumers under 30 are the fastest-growing spending cohort in 89% of Sydney markets analysed, led by Canterbury, Leichhardt, Carlingford and Auburn.
