City of Melton 2024 Spending Trends
As one of Australia’s fastest growing LGAs, businesses in the City of Melton have the opportunity to prosper as the region’s consumer base expands.
According to data prepared by .id (informed decisions) in August 2024, the estimated resident population was 232,721 in the City of Melton and is projected to increase to just over 249,000 in 2025 and over 470,000 by 2046.
For existing businesses and new investors this represents an outstanding opportunity to connect with and service a rapidly growing, local customer base.
The following content and insights have been prepared with data from Spendmapp by Geografia. Spendmapp analyses bank transaction data by time, geography, Expenditure Category and Type allowing continuous monitoring and analysis of local economic activity.
Total Local Spend increased from $215.8m in January to $265.6m at its peak in December, falling slightly below the five-year trendline for the entire January to November period, a reflection of tightening household budgets during this time.
On a 12-month, year-on-year comparison basis, Total Local Spend increased by 4.7% from 2023 to 2024.
Total Local Spend is made up of spending by residents of and visitors to the City of Melton. If we separate the two groups, residents and visitors, we see that Visitor Local Spend increased by 6.7% and Resident Local Spend increased by 3.7%.
The chart below provides a summary of all local spending changes as well as the change in Resident Escape Spend (spending outside of the City of Melton) and Resident Online Spending (resident online transaction anywhere in Australia).
Resident Escape Spend (+5.7%), increased at a slightly higher rate than Resident Local Spend, but more slowly than Visitor Local Spend (+6.7%) and Resident Online Spend (+17.3%).
After multiple years of significant growth in resident online spending, the overall share of online spending, as a percentage of the ‘resident wallet’, increased to 39.3% in 2024.
The growth in online spending reflects the growing national trend towards online sales. It emphasises the need for businesses to develop a strategy towards enhancing their online presence.
If your business is in need of additional digital expertise please familiarise yourself with the Victorian Government’s Digital Jobs program, designed to build a talent pool of professionals who can meet the growing need for digital expertise in the state.
Resident Online Spending – Which categories benefit?
Not all expenditure categories benefit equally from the rapid rise in online spending. The Top 5 categories for the 2024 calendar year were Specialised and Luxury Goods ($652m), Professional Services ($445m), Other ($440m), Dining & Entertainment ($327m) and Travel ($317m).
The Grocery & Supermarket category, which sits at a relatively low, overall rank (#8), increased its annual Resident Online Sales from $7.6m in 2019 to $60.7m in the 2024 calendar year. This illustrates the emerging popularity of online grocery shopping (‘Click & Collect’ and ‘Home Delivery’). Currently, only seven cents in every dollar that is spend by City of Melton residents on grocery and supermarket items, is being spent online.
Future growth in online spending by City of Melton residents is likely.
Overall, it is likely that for convenience reasons and due to relatively young median age of City of Melton residents (33 years), and their affinity to digital processes and technology, online sales will continue to grow at a healthy pace in the years ahead.
Questions, would you like to know more?
If you are interested in data analysis specific to your industry or suburb please reach out to Council’s Economic Development & Tourism team. The team can help you understand what’s in the planning for ongoing and future development of our city, local economic trends that are worth considering and which local businesses might be valuable partners or suppliers that can increase the potential of your current and future investments.
Contact the team at venturemelton@melton.vic.gov.au