Australians are making savvy spending decisions to make their money go further this Christmas amidst the rising cost of living.

New NAB insight reveals 6 in 10 (60 percent) Australians are «extremely likely» to change their spending patterns this Christmas to better manage increased living costs. For some, this could mean leaning on loyalty programs to earn rewards points, trading down on brands or products, or completing their shopping early to benefit from big sales and discounts.

NAB Personal Banking executive Kylie Young said Australians are honing their shopping skills to get around the cost of living crunch this Christmas. «With living costs remaining high, Australians have become laser-focused on seeking out bargains and discounts,» Young said.

«Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great examples of budgeting in action and, even though Australians spent AUD$1.6 billion extra during these sales this year, it shows they planned and took advantage of bargains.»

Racing for a Last-Minute Gift

Despite the spike in pre-Christmas sales spending, plenty of Australians will be adding to the Christmas crunch, racing for a last-minute gift right up to close of business on Christmas Eve. The busiest shopping window is expected to be 12 pm – 1 pm on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 December, with shoppers expected to spend around $3.33 billion across the two peak hour windows.

Customers are working their loyalty programs harder and cashing in on rewards points to avoid paying full price. In the last year, NAB customers redeemed 11.5 billion rewards points from the NAB rewards program and redeemed $12.1 million worth of gift cards.

Tracking Costs to Avoid Budget Blowout

«People are also staying much closer to their finances to help manage or track costs to avoid a budget blowout,» Young said. «Customers with Christmas-related goals in the NAB app are aiming to save on average $3,000 by the end of 2023. More people are also checking their spending tracker in the NAB app and Internet Banking in November and December than in other months, helping them navigate their festive spending.»

  • NAB Economics data comes from a survey of more than 2,000 Australians over 18 years old.