The economic impact of football in WA has been revealed in Bankwest’s latest Spend Trends data, with several sectors trading better than pre-COVID times due to new Phase 3 measures.
The State Government’s Phase 3 easing, combined with the return of football, marked 13-14 June as the best turnover weekend of the year for WA pubs – including against pre-COVID months.
The June result had ‘Pubs, taverns and inns’ trump the previous high (15-16 Feb) by 11 per cent.
The result came as West Coast and Fremantle returned to the field on Saturday and bodes well for WA pubs and bars ahead of a potential Round 6 or 7 Western Derby at Optus Stadium.
The Phase 3 changes also buoyed several other sectors across the state, with shoe stores the surprise leader of a group of businesses trading above pre-COVID levels.
Bankwest’s Spend Trends series analyses recent merchant turnover (10-16 Jun) against a pre-COVID period (22-28 Feb), to show how the WA community adapts to the COVID-19 impact.
The data took in the week following Phase 3’s introduction (6 June), showing the direct impact of government changes, and shoe stores were 37 per cent above the pre-COVID comparison week.
The lifting of restrictions on health and beauty spas (up 32% on pre-COVID), which rode a 92 per cent drop in turnover at the height of the pandemic, also helped that sector recover strongly.
Perennial frontrunner in the recovering sectors ‘Barber and beauty shops’ continued its strong recovery as in-house beauty services resumed, with turnover up 15 per cent from pre-COVID.
The sectors experiencing the most growth and decline overall through the pandemic remained stable, led by ‘Electrical appliance stores’ (110% growth) and ‘Amusement parks’ (-100% decline).
However, there were signs of turnaround in those impacted, with ‘Misc recreation services’ (-92% v -98%) and ‘Travel agencies/tour guides’ (-85% v -92%) improving against the previous period.
Bankwest Chief Customer Officer Paul Vivian said: “If ever we needed proof of how much West Australians love their footy, these results are it, and it’s proven invaluable for certain businesses.
“These results continue the trend of sector recovery with every government change and, with talk of Phase 4 underway, I hope that reversal of fortunes comes quickly for those still suffering.
“It’s incredibly promising for businesses out there to not only see so many sectors with improved turnover since the height of the pandemic, but with turnover greater than pre-pandemic levels.
“There is a long way to go for many in our community, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
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