MARKETING RESEARCH – AUSTRALIA

McDonald’s, KFC, Hungry Jack’s, Domino’s Pizza and Subway are Australia’s favourite restaurants

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Aug-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 19.2 million Australians aged 14+ (82.5%) ate takeaway food in an average six months in the 12 months to June 2026. This is up by 1,204,000 (+6.7%), since 2021-22 when 18 million Australians ate take away food, although it is equivalent to an 85% share of the population. Analysing the leading quick service restaurants by generation shows that Millennials are the biggest customers of all three of the leading fast-food outlets – McDonald’s, KFC and Hungry Jack’s – narrowly ahead of the younger Generation Z. Older generations have fewer customers of fast-food outlets, but McDonald’s remains the leading choice for Generation X, Baby Boomers and the Interwar generation, while the ubiquitous hamburger restaurant narrowly has the edge amongst the youngest Gen Alpha. The research also shows that on average Australians make 3.8 visits to quick service restaurants in an average four weeks, up slightly from 3.7 times a year ago.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, HUNGRY JACK’S PTY LTD

Roy Morgan forecasts Australian Retail Sales to hit $40 billion a month for the first time in August

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Aug-26

New forecasts from Roy Morgan shows that monthly Australian Retail Sales are set to reach $40 billion in August, up 6% on a year ago. The three categories driving growth are Household Goods (forecast to grow 8.8% to almost $6.7 billion), Hospitality (set to grow 6.2% to over $5.9 billion) and Other Retailing (projected to grow 7.5% to over $7 billion). The Clothing category is forecast to grow 5.7% to over $3 billion, while the slowest growth is predicted for Department Stores, up 2.3% to $1.66 billion. The largest category is Food with expected sales of over $15.6 billion in August, up 4.6% on a year ago and representing 39% of all forecast retail sales in August. The fastest retail sales growth by State is set to be in Western Australia with an increase of 7.2% on a year ago to total retail sales of over $4.8 billion in August, just ahead of South Australia, up 6.4% to over $2.6 billion.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

More than 3.4 million Australians attend live theatre, ballet or opera, led by people in Sydney and Melbourne

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jul-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that more than 3.4 million Australians (14.7% of Australians aged 14+) attend live theatre, ballet or opera performances in an average three months. The latest data for the year to March 2026 is unchanged from a year earlier, but above pre-COVID levels from 2019-20. Almost 3.1 million Australians (13.2%) attend live theatre in an average three months, unchanged from a year ago. Meanwhile, ballet and opera attendance reached 694,000 Australians, up 63,000 (+10%) from a year ago. The longer-term trend shows that the live performance market has largely recovered from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in terms of overall attendance. Over the past two years, numbers have remained relatively stable, with the latest figure showing 200,000 more Australians 14+ attending live theatre, ballet or opera compared to pre-COVID level in March 2020. The rebound in numbers is partly due to the population increase seen since COVID-19. In fact, the percentage share of Australians attending live theatre, ballet or opera in the 12 months to March 2026 (14.7%) is down 0.7% points from the 12 months to March 2020 (15.4%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

More than 3.3 million Australians are experiencing some form of gambling harm

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Jul-26

The latest Roy Morgan data shows that 15.1% of Australia’s adult population (an estimated 3.32 million people) are experiencing some level of harm from their own gambling behaviours or those close to them. As of March 2026, 13.0% of the Australian population (an estimated 2,857,000 people) were experiencing some form of Gambling Harm from their own gambling behaviours. Approximately 5.4% (1,177,000 people) are experiencing Gambling Harm from other people’s gambling. Importantly, people can fall into both types of gambling harm if they are experiencing both. The Roy Morgan Gambling Harm Index provides a comprehensive snapshot of the incidence and severity of gambling-related harm in Australia. The Index is based on the Gambling Harm Scales, a screening framework developed by Central Queensland University, which uses 10 key questions to capture a range of financial, emotional and social impacts associated with gambling.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY

AI usage shows an even gender split but gender differences emerge in platform choices

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jul-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that AI users in Australia are almost evenly split between men (50.3%) and women (49.7%). Overall, there are 6.8 million male users and 6.7 million female users of AI. This balance is largely reflected in the gender breakdown of OpenAI’s ChatGPT user base (the most widely used AI platform for Australians). ChatGPT has an almost even gender split, used by 5.3 million women (50.6% of users) and just under 5.2 million men (49.4%). However, other leading AI platforms show a skew towards male users, including Google Gemini (2.8 million men cf. 2.1 million women), Microsoft Copilot (2.3 million men cf. 1.7 million women), and Anthropic’s Claude (459,000 men cf. 318,000 women). In contrast, Canva’s Magic Studio stands out as a clear exception, with a heavy skew towards female users who make up more than 60% of its user base (821,000 women cf. 547,000 men).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, OPENAI INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, ANTHROPIC PBC, CANVA INCORPORATED

ING, Suncorp Bank and Bendigo Bank home loan customers are the most satisfied with their bank after three interest rate rises

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Jul-26

New financial data from Roy Morgan’s Single Source shows that ING has topped the latest banking customer satisfaction ratings among home loan customers. ING’s home loan customer satisfaction rating is a market leading 92.1%, up 0.9% points from a year ago. In second place is Suncorp Bank, which completed its merger with ANZ almost two years ago; customer satisfaction among Suncorp’s home loan customers is 87.1%, up 2.3% points on a year ago. Filling out the top four banks are Bendigo Bank on 84.1% (up 1.6% points on a year ago) and Macquarie on 79.7% (up 0.4% points). Meanwhile, NAB now has the highest home loan customer satisfaction rating among the big four banks, with a rating of 78.8%, and the largest increase in customer satisfaction compared to a year ago, up 6.5% points. The latest data covers the six months to May 2026, and overall home loan customer satisfaction amongst Australia’s top banks collectively was at 78.3% during this period; this represents a collective increase of 4.2% points from a year ago. The atest banking satisfaction ratings come from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SUNCORP BANK, BENDIGO BANK, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

End of Financial Year (EOFY) sales spending growth stalls as households tighten budgets

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jun-26

End of Financial Year sales remain one of Australia’s most significant retail events; however, EOFY spending is forecast to grow by just 1.9 per cent this year – well below inflation. The research from the Australian Retail Council and Roy Morgan shows that around 6.1 million Australians (26%) plan to shop during EOFY sales this year, with total spending expected to reach $10.7bn. The most popular categories this year are clothing, footwear and accessories (34%), household appliances and white goods (15%), and electronics and technology products (12%). Australians aged 35 to 49 are expected to spend an average of $1,464 during the EOFY sales, compared with $1,946 for Australians aged under 35 and $1,993 for those aged 50 to 64. Despite participation remaining steady, around three million Australians who spent during last year’s EOFY sales do not currently plan to participate in 2026. This ARC-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with a nationwide cross-section of 5,276 Australians aged 14+ from 28 May to 1 June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAIL COUNCIL

Bunnings is Australia’s most trusted brand; OpenAI enters the top 20 most distrusted brands for the first time

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New data from Roy Morgan shows that Bunnings is the most trusted brand for the 12 months to March 2026; it is the 10th consecutive quarterly victory for the leading hardware retailer, stretching back to late 2023. The top three places are unchanged for a ninth straight quarter, with discount supermarket Aldi in second place and discount department store Kmart in third. The next three spots are unchanged for a second straight quarter with the Commonwealth Bank in fourth, consumer products giant Apple filling out the top five, and discount department store Big W again in sixth. Meanwhile, Optus has replaced Woolworths as the most distrusted brand in Australia; this is the first time the telco has occupied this position since September 2024. Facebook and Temu are now the second and third most distrusted brands. Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles are fourth and fifth most distrusted, with both improving in the latest quarter. OpenAI (including ChatGPT), experienced one of the biggest declines this quarter, down seven spots to enter the top 20 most distrusted brands in 19th place, driven by suspicions around profit motives and ethics.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, APPLE PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK, TEMU, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, OPENAI INCORPORATED

13.6 million Australians now use AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Canva Magic Studio and Claude

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jun-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 13.6 million people (equivalent to 58% of Australians aged 14+) used Artificial Intelligence tools in an average four weeks in the March 2026 quarter. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is clearly the most popular AI tool, with 10.5 million Australians (45%) using ChatGPT. Google Gemini is the second most used AI tool, used by 5 million Australians (21%); usage of Gemini represents the active use of the tool, rather than the embedded use that comes with using Google Search. Microsoft Copilot follows closely behind Google Gemini, used by an estimated 4 million Australians (17%). Well behind the big three are Canva’s Magic Studio, used by an estimated 1.4 million Australians (6%), while Anthropic’s Claude is used by an estimated 777,000 Australians (3%). Analysis by age shows that 74% of Australians aged 25-34 and 72% aged 35-49 use AI tools, the highest usage of any age groups. This is followed by people aged 18-24 (68%) and 14-17 (66%). In contrast, only 50% of people aged 50-64 and just 31% of people aged 65+ use AI tools.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Roy Morgan unveils Annual Customer Satisfaction Award winners across all categories

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-May-26

Roy Morgan has announced the winners of its annual Customer Satisfaction Awards for 2025. The awards recognise outstanding levels of customer satisfaction, as judged by more than 60,000 consumers via the Roy Morgan Single Source survey. The award categories cover sectors such as finance, automotive, retail, telecommunications and utilities. Of the 37 award winners this year, 23 are repeat winners backing up from victory a year ago; they include 11 with a perfect record of 12 monthly award wins for the year. In addition to the repeat winners, there were also five first-time winners and seven companies returning to the winner’s circle after missing out a year ago. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the Annual Customer Satisfaction Awards are the gold standard in identifying those companies and brands that stay ahead of the pack by knowing what their customers want and delivering it consistently.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED