Consumers remain in a spending mood, but there’s been a clear reduction in the rate at which their spending has been increasing.

Households spent 6.0% more in April than the year before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

That compares to 29.1% through-the-year growth in August 2022.

“This is mainly due to lower growth in spending on consumer services, like holiday travel and eating out, which continues to normalise following the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the ABS’s head of business indicators, Kate Lamb.

The April data also revealed the continuation of another trend, with growth in services spending (8.4%) exceeding goods spending (3.6%).

Throughout the pandemic year of 2020, spending on goods increased, while spending on services decreased. Since early 2021, spending has consistently increased for both categories – but at a faster rate for services.