WATCH: Syd spend slumps amid COVID outbreak

Published July 15 2021

Spending in inner Sydney slumped in the first weeks of the city’s winter stay-at-home order, according to exclusive ANZ data, but still outperformed comparable city lockdowns in 2021.

The data show reduced foot traffic in Sydney’s central^disclaimer business district led to a fall in retail spending of almost 70 per cent in the first week of the order, when compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. It remained largely flat at this level in the extended second week.

In the week before the order was put in place, spending was roughly 30 per cent lower than 2019 levels, showing the stark impact of the order on inner-city retailers.

In Melbourne, in the second week of a May lockdown due to a similar COVID outbreak, spending fell 90 per cent on 2019 levels, according to ANZ data. This was a far-stricter lockdown than seen in Sydney.

You can see more in the animation below.

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In the week before the May lockdown in Melbourne, spending was only just above 20 per cent lower than 2019 levels, a much-wider gap than seen in Sydney.

Following a snap lockdown in Queensland in March, restaurant spending in Brisbane dropped, according to ANZ data, highlighting the impact of such moves on businesses which require foot traffic.

ANZ works closely with its customers to manage their response to Australia’s ongoing pandemic measures, providing market-leading insights using disaggregated data, Anurag Soin, Director, Data Science, ANZ Institutional, said.

“We will continue to monitor the developing COVID-19 situation to ensure our customer are equipped with the up-to-date insights their business needs,” he said.