{"id":863853,"date":"2026-08-22T02:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T02:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863853\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T02:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T02:04:09","slug":"no-to-furniture-yes-to-yoghurt-five-ways-australians-are-changing-their-shopping-behaviour-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863853\/","title":{"rendered":"No to furniture, yes to yoghurt: five ways Australians are changing their shopping behaviour | Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Protein fill<\/p>\n

Bega\u2019s financial results show that while consuming large amounts of protein may have started as a gym craze, it is now firmly mass market.<\/p>\n

The food company generated a robust 6.7% increase in annual revenue, to $3.8bn, on the back of protein-enhanced yoghurt and flavoured milk, including smoothies, and it expects the demand to continue.<\/p>\n

Protein-infused yoghurt is proving to be particularly profitable for Bega because the profit margins \u2013 representing the difference between the cost of production and sale \u2013 are wider than in other dairy products, like its traditional cheeses.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

The protein trend is having a big impact across dairy, with food manufacturers shifting focus away from cheese towards protein powders and high protein drinks and yoghurt, according to Rabobank.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile cheese remains the dominant use for Australian milk \u2013 ahead of drinking milk \u2013 and a critical foundation of the dairy sector, protein optimisation through use in high-protein products is emerging as the next growth frontier,\u201d says Michael Harvey, a senior dairy analyst at Rabobank.<\/p>\n

2. Couches and fridges<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s housing downturn<\/a> has weighed on the sale of household items such as couches and fridges that people often buy when they move.<\/p>\n

Sales at Nick Scali were robust late last year, before a series of interest rate rises sparked a slowdown in property transactions. The retailer subsequently reported a sharp decrease in the number of people visiting its stores, and with it, a drop in sales of bedroom and living room furniture.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s property tax changes released in the May budget further dented sales volumes by erasing incentives for new investors.<\/p>\n

Analysts at IG Markets described the financial results of JB Hi-Fi, which owns white goods retailer The Good Guys, as a \u201cbombshell\u201d that sent its share price down by 10% in a single trading session.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shareholder concern was linked to clear signs many customers are cutting their spend, and potentially waiting for promotional events, including Black Friday, before opening their wallets again.<\/p>\n

3. Personal debt<\/p>\n

There are some glaring examples of consumer weakness coming through this reporting season, as inflation-fuelled cost of living pressures bite again.<\/p>\n

The Commonwealth Bank\u2019s accounts showed a surge in the number of customers falling more than 90 days behind on personal loan repayments, which is now at a much higher level than before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Personal loans, which are sometimes taken out to consolidate debt, typically require much higher repayment rates than a mortgage, and are difficult to recover from after a borrower falls behind.<\/p>\n

Higher petrol prices have added to cost of living pressures this year. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAP<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, National Australia Bank has recorded a sharp increase in the level of \u201cwatch loans\u201d, whereby a lender has identified that a borrower may struggle to meet future commitments.<\/p>\n

The deteriorating financial position and sentiment in many households started to appear earlier this year<\/a> when mortgage and petrol price increases \u2013 and a souring global economic outlook \u2013 took hold.<\/p>\n

After a brief reprieve, petrol prices have started to rise again, while interest rates remain elevated.<\/p>\n

4. Coffee time<\/p>\n

The robust financial results of home appliance manufacturer and distributor Breville show that some retail-focused businesses can perform even when living costs are elevated.<\/p>\n

The Sydney-headquartered company\u2019s coffee business generated double-digit revenue growth across the globe last financial year, underpinned by strong consumer interest in the latest home coffee machines, even when they retail for thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

Coffee machines have proven to be a resilient product given under-pressure consumers are often willing to cut back on takeaway coffees and buy their own machine to save.<\/p>\n

Breville is also banking on new technology that allows consumers to use their phones to set the machine\u2019s settings, including grind size and flow rates.<\/p>\n

5. World Cup fever<\/p>\n

It is notoriously difficult for broadcasters to make money from Fifa World Cups as the sport does not lend itself to frequent ad breaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Retailers, however, often have a positive experience.<\/p>\n

Rebel owner Super Retail Group disclosed in its financial earnings that the recent World Cup in North America gave it a strong earnings boost through branded sales of jerseys and balls.<\/p>\n

The company is already looking at how it will drive revenue from the 2027 Fifa Women\u2019s World Cup in Brazil, and will be hoping the Matildas emulated their strong 2023 run to drive sales of fan gear.<\/p>\n

Other parts of Super Retail\u2019s business have not fared so well, with mild winter conditions hurting sales at the company\u2019s Macpac stores, which specialise in outdoor apparel and equipment in Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1. Protein fill Bega\u2019s financial results show that while consuming large amounts of protein may have started as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-863853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}