Over one-in-three Australian credit card holders rely on credit to make ends meet

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-25

New research from Roy Morgan’s Single Source shows that the median annual personal income of Australian credit card holders is over $20,000 higher than non-credit card holders. Nevertheless, 36% of credit card holders leave part of their credit card debt unpaid at the end of each month; this equates to an estimated 2,440,000 Australians, or 11% of the adult population. Among the 2.44 million Australians who do not pay off their credit card each month, the median amount owed is $1,037. Those with greater ongoing living expenses tend to owe more, with more owed by mortgage payers ($1,342) and renters ($911) than by those owning their home outright ($787). Not only do credit card holders who have greater ongoing living expenses leave larger amounts unpaid on their credit card each month, but they are also more likely to have accessed buy-now, pay-later services in an average four weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Online retailers are leading Australia’s low-price perception shift, with cheap becoming even cheaper

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-25

Research from Roy Morgan shows that global online retailers are reshaping Australians’ perceptions of value, with "cheap" becoming even cheaper as most traditional discount stores lose their hold on price perception. Kmart and Big W continue to lead on low-price perception, with 58% and 45% of Australians respectively associating these brands with the statement "has low prices". However, over the past five years most traditional discount retailers have seen declines in this measure, while Amazon, Temu and Shein have recorded notable gains. Temu’s "low price" association has risen from 34% to 41% (+7% points) since October 2024, surpassing The Reject Shop. Shein has risen from 23% to 27% (+4% points) during the same period, and is now sitting on par with Bunnings and Target. The Reject Shop’s recent acquisition by Canadian retailer Dollarama is set to inject new competition into this segment. However, Dollarama will be entering a far more competitive environment than The Reject Shop has competed in, with online players now firmly reshaping what Australians perceive as "cheap".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, TEMU, SHEIN, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, DOLLARAMA

Australians report donating almost $8 billion to charity annually

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-25

Data from Roy Morgan shows that 58% of Australians aged 14+ (an estimated 13.2 million people) donated an average of $594 to charity in the year to 30 June 2025, contributing approximately $7.9 billion in total. Donations have followed a steady upward trend since June 2015, with a few slight dips in recent periods over the last decade, including during the last year as cost-of-living concerns became prevalent, even as official inflation decelerated rapidly over the last two-and-a-half years. Over the last decade the average size of charitable donations made by Australians has grown significantly. In 2015-16 the average charitable donation per donor was $334; this increased by $166 (+50%) in the next five years to an average of $500 in 2020-21. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth in the size of the average charitable donation has continued, but at a slower pace, up by $94 (+19%) over the last four years to $594 in 2024-25.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

More men are using skincare; up over 20% compared to five years ago

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Oct-25

New data from Roy Morgan shows that there was 20.7% growth in male skincare routines over the five years to June 2025, making male self-care more prominent than ever. In total, 14.4 million Australians aged 14+ said they have used skincare products in the 12 months to June 2025, compared to 13 million in the year to June 2021; this is an increase of over 1 million Australians (10.1% growth) over the past five years. Some 43.4% of men now use skincare products, up from 40.5% five years ago; the number of women who use skincare products has fallen to 81.5%, down from 82.5% five years ago. Meanwhile, the number of Australians who now have a skincare routine has grown from 7,671,000 to 8,649,000; this is a rise of 979,000 (12.8% growth over the last five years). While more people are reporting to have a skincare routine, the number of those who do is growing at a faster rate; with the gap between the two groups widening.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

HBO Max scores over 850,000 viewers in first quarter streaming content

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Sep-25

New data from Roy Morgan shows that streaming video service HBO Max, which launched in Australia on 31 March, has captured an impressive audience of 851,000 Australians aged 14+ in its first full quarter online (April-June 2025). A look at the broader market for subscription video on demand shows that 17.6 million Australians (76.9%) watched a streaming video service in an average four weeks in the 12 months to June 2025, up 452,000 (+3%) from a year ago. The leading streaming video service is again Netflix with 14,339,000 viewers (63% of Australians) in an average four weeks – more than double any other streaming video service. The contest for second place is tight between Disney Plus with 6,474,000 viewers (28%), just ahead of Amazon Prime Video with 6,464,000 viewers (28%) and Stan on 5,097,000 (22%). In fifth place is DAZN’s streaming video service Binge with 2,754,000 viewers (12%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, HBO MAX, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, DISNEY+, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DAZN, BINGE

Migration concerns surge post-pandemic – almost returning to pre-pandemic levels

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Sep-25

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 13% of Australian electors believe that ‘managing immigration and population growth’ is an important issue; this figure has more than doubled since 2023. However, the long-term national trend since 2016 shows that the proportion who cited ‘managing immigration and population growth’ as an important issue reached a pre-pandemic high of 16% in 2019, before declining during COVID and falling to just 6% in June 2023. Since then, the perceived importance of immigration has surged as an issue and, as immigration to Australia increased, is up seven percentage points. While there has been an increase in the perceived importance of immigration as an issue across all age groups since the pandemic, concern varies substantially by age, with older people being significantly more likely to raise immigration as an issue.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Temu and Amazon have each gained close to a million shoppers in the last year, Shein has also gained over half a million shoppers

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Sep-25

New data from Roy Morgan reveals the staggering growth in the numbers of shoppers for online players Amazon, Temu and Shein. Some 8.8 million Australians bought at least once from Amazon over the year to June 2025 (up by 900,000 year-on-year, +11% growth), while 4.7 million bought from Temu (up by 900,000 year-on-year, +24% growth), and 2.6 million bought from Shein (up by 600,000 year-on-year, +27% growth). The rapid rise of these online disruptors is reshaping Australia’s retail landscape; several major retailers have experienced significant year-on-year declines in customer numbers, while others have exited the market entirely in the last year. Roy Morgan estimates that Temu had nearly $2.6 billion in annual sales in the 12 months to June (compared to an estimated $1.6 billion a year ago), while Shein had close to an estimated $1.3 billion in annual sales (compared to an estimated $1 billion a year ago).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, TEMU, SHEIN

Net Promoter Scores for electricity providers on the increase in 2025 after two years of decline

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jul-25

New data from Roy Morgan shows that improvements in the Net Promoter Scores of electricity providers this year has correlated with a clear drop in switching behaviour. After reaching a peak of -7 in the year to March 2022, the NPS for electricity providers fell consistently over the next two years as surging electricity prices and cost of living concerns faced many Australians. The NPS of electricity providers hit a low of -13 in the year to June 2024. However, NPS have gradually turned around and have improved significantly so far this year, now at -8 in the latest figures to June 2025, indicating that Australians are now increasingly more likely to recommend electricity providers to their friends than they were a year ago. The data shows that 16% of Australian electricity customers switched providers in the year to June 2025; this is down from a high of 18% in December 2024, but still higher than the 14% switching recorded during 2021 and early 2022.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

The full picture: a decade of smoking in Australia

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-25

The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that 17.4% of Australians aged 18+ smoke or vape; this includes 12.1% who smoke Factory Made Cigarettes (FMCs) or Roll-Your-Own (RYO) Cigarettes (8.4% FMC & 5.3% RYO) and 7.5% who vape. Overall, this is virtually unchanged over the last decade; in 2014, 17.7% smoked either FMC, RYO, pipe or cigars. However, since 2014, the composition of smoking/vaping has changed with both vaping and illicit tobacco more widespread. In 2018, when Roy Morgan first began asking people about their use of e-cigarettes, the incidence was less than 2%. Over the next few years, the incidence of vaping increased steadily to reach a high of 8.3% in the 12 months to December 2023 (and now at 7.5% in the 12 months to June 2025). Meanwhile, illicit tobacco usage was first measured by Roy Morgan in 2020 when the incidence was less than 2% (given this is self-reporting of an illegal activity, it is likely under-reported). Since then, the use of illicit tobacco has steadily increased to 4.8% of Australians 18+. Smoking illicit tobacco is included in the FMC/RYO incidence and, as such, is contributing to the continued smoking rates of FMC/RYO hovering just over 12%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Smoking increases among young Australians since vaping sales ban in 2024

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Jul-25

The latest data from Roy Morgan shows that the proportion of Australians aged 18+ smoking Factory Made Cigarettes (FMCs), Roll-Your-Own Cigarettes (RYO) or vaping bottomed at 16.8% (3.59 million) in the year to December 2024. Since then, the incidence of Australians smoking (or vaping) has increased to 17.1% (3.7 million), an increase of 0.3% points (+110,000). Driving the increase has been increased smoking rates of (FMCs), which has increased from 7.9% (1.67 million) to 8.3% (1.79 million), an increase of 0.4% points (+120,000). Meanwhile, legislation banning the sale of disposable single-use and non-therapeutic vapes in mid-2024 has had only a small impact on overall vaping rates, which are now at 7.5% of the population (1.61 million), down by only 0.2% points (-40,000) since the year to September 2024. Despite the legislation, 20.5% (510,000) of 18-24yr olds now vape, up from a low of 19% (470,000) in the year to September 2024; this is an increase of 1.5% points (+40,000) in less than a year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED