A Bankwest analysis of savings goals over a six-month period has revealed the spending intentions of West Australians for the year ahead, with a surge in war chests for discretionary spending, and a focus on Homes, and Travel.
Data from 50,000 WA entries in the Savings Goal feature of the Bankwest Mobile App from August 2020 to January 2021 inclusive, showed the goal category of Big Purchase leading the growth charts across almost all generations.
The category accounted for significant discretionary purchases such as jewellery, boats, weddings, pools/spas, and furniture.
The near cross-generation consensus on targeting savings for discretionary spend has resulted in a 52 per cent surge in Big Purchase goals, followed by saving for a Home (49% growth), and Just Saving (47% growth).
The growth in saving for a Home was also consistent across generations, being the second-highest uptake for Millennials (53% growth) and Baby Boomers (76%), and close to 50 per cent growth for Gen Z and Gen X.
The property market’s current homebuying Millennials perhaps unsurprisingly made up the majority of those saving for a Home, with 20 per cent of the generation putting their money towards the goal of owning their own home.
Travel also remained on the cards for all goal-setters, making the Top 3 of each generation and the No.1 priority for Gen X (26% of goals set by the cohort) and Baby Boomers (31%), but it was less important for younger Australians.
However, while it was clear West Australians continued to save for a holiday, fewer were doing so, with Travel the only category to have declined in the proportion of goals set by each generation compared to six months ago.
Australia’s current and next generation of house hunters – Millennials and Gen Z, respectively – also emerged as the leaders in financial goalsetting, with the two brackets combining to account for 80 per cent of goals set.
Bankwest Chief Customer Officer Paul Vivian said: “Bankwest’s priority continues to be on supporting customers and the community as the economy recovers from the ravages of 2020.
“However, Bankwest savings data and broad economic commentary both point to the swelling of household cash reserves across 2020, and the drawdown of that stockpile is critical to Western Australia’s continued recovery.
“While Just Saving remains the most common goal, the surge over the past six months in areas such as Big Purchase suggests West Aussies are increasingly feeling confident about spending on big discretionary items.
“Those spending goals suggest fewer people are saving for holidays, but Travel is still a Top 3 priority, which bodes well for the economy, given domestic travel is likely to continue to improve before international borders ease.
“We also saw a surge in the number of goals set by customers, which grew by more than 40 per cent, with most dedicated to spending, given the strong growth in categories such as Big Purchase, Home, and Something Else.
“The past 12 months presented significant challenges to West Australians, and many people and businesses continue to face hardship, but data such as this continues to make us cautiously optimistic for the year ahead.”
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‘Big Purchase’ surge has West Aussies set for post-COVID splurge
25 March 2021
Ganeration age brackets
| Gen Z | Millennial | Gen X | Baby Boomer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Age
|
14-22
|
23-38
|
39-53
|
54-73
|
Gen Z
Millennial
Gen X
Baby Boomer
Age
14-22
23-38
39-53
54-73
What people are saving for – overall goal distribution
(NB: Highlights indicate Top 3 growth [green] and lowest growth [orange] categories)|
Goal category |
Proportion of goals (%) |
6mth Growth (Aug 20-Jan 21 inc.) (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
Big purchase
|
14
|
52
|
|
Just saving
|
27
|
49
|
|
Travel
|
21
|
21
|
|
Home
|
16
|
49
|
|
Something else
|
10
|
46
|
|
Emergency fund
|
7
|
44
|
|
Family
|
5
|
41
|
|
Total 100
|
All goal growth 41
|
Goal category
Proportion of goals (%)
6mth Growth (Aug 20-Jan 21 inc.) (%)
Big purchase
14
52
Just saving
27
49
Travel
21
21
Home
16
49
Something else
10
46
Emergency fund
7
44
Family
5
41
Total 100
All goal growth 41
What each generation is saving for – goal distribution by generation
(NB: Highlights indicate Top 3 goal categories per generation)|
Goal category |
Gen Z (%) |
Change in 6mths (%) |
Millennial (%) | Change in 6mths (%) | Gen X (%) | Change in 6mths (%) | Baby Boomer (%) | Change in 6mths (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Big purchase
|
16
|
+1
|
9
|
+1
|
9
|
+2
|
9
|
+1
|
|
Emergency fund
|
5
|
not applicable
-
|
9
|
not applicable
-
|
10
|
not applicable
-
|
11
|
+2
|
|
Family
|
3
|
not applicable
-
|
7
|
not applicable
-
|
12
|
not applicable
-
|
4
|
not applicable
-
|
|
Home
|
14
|
not applicable
-
|
20
|
+1
|
23
|
not applicable
-
|
9
|
+1
|
|
Just saving
|
30
|
+2
|
26
|
+1
|
23
|
+1
|
26
|
+1
|
|
Something else
|
9
|
not applicable
-
|
10
|
11
|
not applicable
-
|
11
|
-1
|
|
|
Travel
|
23
|
-4
|
19
|
-3
|
26
|
-4
|
31
|
-5
|
Goal category
Gen Z (%)
Change in 6mths (%)
Millennial (%)
Change in 6mths (%)
Gen X (%)
Change in 6mths (%)
Baby Boomer (%)
Change in 6mths (%)
Big purchase
16
+1
9
+1
9
+2
9
+1
Emergency fund
5
not applicable
-
9
not applicable
-
10
not applicable
-
11
+2
Family
3
not applicable
-
7
not applicable
-
12
not applicable
-
4
not applicable
-
Home
14
not applicable
-
20
+1
23
not applicable
-
9
+1
Just saving
30
+2
26
+1
23
+1
26
+1
Something else
9
not applicable
-
10
11
not applicable
-
11
-1
Travel
23
-4
19
-3
26
-4
31
-5
What has changed over the past 6 months – growth in volume of goals by generation
(NB: Highlights indicate Top 3 growth categories per generation)|
Goal category |
Gen Z (%) |
Millennial (%) | Gen X (%) | Baby Boomer (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Big purchase
|
47
|
60
|
83
|
71
|
|
Emergency fund
|
36
|
46
|
48
|
77
|
|
Family
|
34
|
41
|
49
|
33
|
|
Home
|
42
|
53
|
48
|
76
|
|
Just saving
|
46
|
51
|
48
|
56
|
|
Something else
|
44
|
48
|
50
|
40
|
|
Travel
|
18
|
23
|
26
|
28
|
Goal category
Gen Z (%)
Millennial (%)
Gen X (%)
Baby Boomer (%)
Big purchase
47
60
83
71
Emergency fund
36
46
48
77
Family
34
41
49
33
Home
42
53
48
76
Just saving
46
51
48
56
Something else
44
48
50
40
Travel
18
23
26
28
Who is setting goals – goal distribution by generation
| Gen Z (%) | Millennial (%) | Gen X (%) | Baby Boomer (%) | Other (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Generations as a proportion of all goals
|
35
|
45
|
11
|
2
|
7
|
|
Growth in goals established by generation
|
37
|
45
|
44
|
48
|
N/A
|
Gen Z (%)
Millennial (%)
Gen X (%)
Baby Boomer (%)
Other (%)
Generations as a proportion of all goals
35
45
11
2
7
Growth in goals established by generation
37
45
44
48
N/A
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