Sydney’s food spending habits are shifting toward the city’s western suburbs, where growth in eating out now surpasses that of long-established dining hotspots in the east. A new report from Retail Property Australia, using transaction data from CommBank iQ, reveals that food catering expenditure is climbing fastest in areas historically known for home cooking. Fairfield, Auburn, Canterbury, Parramatta, and Merrylands-Guildford all recorded strong growth in food catering, with increases of 13.2%, 13.1%, 13.1%, 12.0%, and 12.0% respectively. These gains contrast sharply with slower growth in eastern Sydney’s high-spending precincts.
William Power, the group’s executive director, attributes the change to evolving community demographics. While eastern suburbs like Eastern Suburbs-North ($2,293 per person monthly) and Manly ($2,199) still lead in per-capita dining expenditure, western growth is outpacing expectations. Canterbury, Parramatta, and Marrickville-Sydenham-Petersham saw spending rises of 9.4%, 7.8%, and 7.7% respectively. Power noted, “The pantry line gives us a new lens on Sydney’s retail economy. Traditionally, we’ve seen a higher dining out spend concentrated in the inner city and eastern suburbs, but we’re seeing that behaviour spread into growth corridors across western Sydney. As communities grow, attract new jobs and become more established, spending patterns evolve with them. The data shows that change is already underway.”
Demographic trends play a key role in the transformation. Younger consumers, those under 30, now drive spending in 89% of Sydney markets, particularly in Canterbury, Leichhardt, Carlingford, and Auburn. This aligns with national cost-of-living pressures, which are pushing consumer priorities toward more flexible and affordable dining options. The data shows how economic constraints and lifestyle shifts are redefining where Sydney residents choose to spend their money.
Regional Spending Disparities and National Retail Trends
New South Wales’ retail spending growth of 5.1% lags behind the national rate of 5.3%, with Sydney contributing more to the state’s total than Melbourne does for Victoria. Sydney’s growth rate of 5.5% exceeds the NSW average by 0.4 points, while Melbourne’s 5.6% is only 0.2 points above Victoria’s 5.4%.
Across Australia, retail spending growth remains broad-based, led by Food Catering (+8.5%), General Retail (+8.4%), Jewellery, Watches and Luxury (+7.6%), Retail Services (+6.4%), and Leisure (+6.1%).
