Australia Under Stress - New Boost Mobile Report Shows 90% Of People Tightening Their Belts As Cost Of Living Bites Hard

BOOST MOBILE, the world's largest youth-focused telco brand, has today shared the findings of an extensive national study, which has revealed that 90% of Australians have made changes to their purchasing behaviour as a result of the rising cost of living. Australians are now actively reviewing their grocery and petrol purchases and are concerned about the cost of housing, electricity and mobile phone expenses. Even with these growing expenses, the study also revealed that most Australians have been with the same network provider for their mobile and data service for more than three years, despite many options available to consumers that could deliver them significant savings.  

In addition to polling Australians across both metro and regional areas, Boost Mobile also focused on 18 regional cities to get a true lay of the land. From Albury and Orange in New South Wales, to Bendigo and Ballarat in Victoria, Mackay and Rockhampton in Queensland and beyond, the results show regional Australians in crisis, with more than 16% of those surveyed experiencing significant financial distress. 

"As a brand that has been fighting for value for Australians for more than 20 years, it has always been important for us to listen to consumers and make sure we are doing what we can to provide great value. This research shows that there is significant financial hardship facing many Australians that may be going unreported," said Jason Haynes, General Manager, Boost Mobile. 

"Despite this, many Australians are leaving savings on the table by sticking blindly with their existing mobile phone plans. To everyone reviewing their expenses - do your research and consider switching. It's an easy way to deliver real savings without making any sacrifices to your lifestyle.  

"At Boost Mobile, we are all about providing quality product, great value and convenience for all Australians with our SIM Plans and refurbished phones. Boost Mobile is on the full Telstra mobile network. This covers one million square kilometres more than any other mobile network in Australia - that is almost the same size as NSW and Victoria combined."  

Cost Of Living Bites Hard In Both Regional And Metro Australia

National data reveal that 90% of surveyed Australians have made changes to their purchasing decisions. While 46% are making a few changes, 30% of people nationally have now made significant changes to their purchasing. When it comes to experiencing significant financial pressures, there is a growing divide between metro and regional Australia. While 11.5% of metro-based respondents are being kept awake at night due to financial stress, it is affecting 16.5% of those surveyed in regional areas. 

Only 10% of those surveyed say they were 'fine, so far so good' when asked about cost of living increases. 

While state-by-state comparisons revealed an overall consistency of concern, Queensland is below the national average for those who are fine (8.5%), and above the national average for those with significant problems (16.5%). 

Australians Review Purchasing Decisions 

Findings reveal that the cost of daily groceries is the biggest concern facing Australians at the moment, with 77% nationally identifying this as their most concerning expense. This was followed by petrol/transport (61%), electricity (57%), cost of rent/mortgage (55%) and mobile phone-related costs (20%).  

When focusing on age-related concerns, Australians aged 45-54 are more concerned about electricity against the national average (65% vs 57%), while those aged 25-34 are more concerned about the cost of housing than the national average (60% vs 55%). Those aged 18-24 are 8% more likely to be concerned about the cost of their mobile phone service (28% vs 20%). 

Regional Queenslanders are more concerned about the cost of groceries than the national average (84% vs 77%), while those from regional Victoria and New South Wales over-index against the national average for their concerns around the rising cost of electricity (63% vs 57%). 

Australians Are Loyal To Their Network Provider Yet Crave Price, Data and Good Network

On average, 64% of those surveyed have been with their existing network provider for three years or more, a further 12% for more than two years. Those 45-64 years of age are even more loyal with 73% of those surveyed remaining with their existing provider for more than three years. Those 25-34 move more frequently, but 59% are still with the same company they were with three years ago. 

When asked the most important elements of a good network provider, good network coverage was the most important factor for 46% of those surveyed. 44% identified price as the most important factor, followed by data allowance for 27% of those surveyed. Network coverage and price where the top two factors for more than 65% of those surveyed. 

The Phone Call Isn't Quite Dead Yet, But It Is Moving Down The List

While Australians are hurting financially and re-considering their financial decisions, they will mostly avoid calling people to talk about it. Nationally, text messaging is the preferred way to communicate with family members and close friends, with 35% of those surveyed preferring this method of communication to traditional calls. Phone calls were the top way to communicate for only 30% of those surveyed nationally. Facebook messenger and WhatsApp rounded out the top four responses. 

For those aged 25-34, text prevailed alongside the national data (35%), with phone calls (26%), with 24% of people in this age group preferring to communicate through Facebook Messenger. 

Regional Australia Reveals Surprises 

Boost Mobile used this national survey to specifically deep-dive into 18 different regional centres across the country, which revealed some interesting statistics that highlight the nuances that can exist between specific locations. 

In Albury, 30% of those surveyed revealed that financial stress was keeping them awake at night, double the national average. In Bundaberg, 33% of respondents were worried about the cost of their mobile phone provider, while in Cairns it was 28% of those surveyed. In Caboolture, residents would prefer to text or send a message via Facebook rather than making a phone call. 

Undertaken by PureProfile in September 2022, more than 3,200 Australians were included in the Boost Mobile Survey, with a 55% female / 45% male split. Individual state and age data is available upon request. 

Why Boost Mobile's Value Mission Is More Important Now Than Ever Before

Since its inception, Boost Mobile has remained committed to providing compelling competition for customers. With coverage access via the full Telstra Mobile Network, Boost boasts attractive value offerings with loads of data, no lock-in contracts and great value on Boost Mobile's plans, which also included access to the highest quality refurbished and affordable smartphones. With a range of refurbished iPhones, Samsung Galaxy smartphones and more starting from $269, all refurbished products are held to the highest standard of testing, and come with a 12 month warranty and 30 day satisfaction guarantee. 

These insights revealed today serve to remind of the importance of low-cost options and will only further invigorate Boost's focus on fighting for value in the telco market. 

Some of Boost's highest-value options include its bulk buy plans that allow customers to buy bulk data upfront with a 12 month expiry. Over time, this works out to be as low as $16 a month for over 10GB a month, paid upfront. 

Working to give the data hungry what they need to keep in touch, all 12 month expiry SIM recharges currently offer a bonus 10-20GB for the first recharge for new and migrating customers when activated before the 28th November 2022.* Additionally, when customers recharge on any $30 - $70 Boost Anytime PlusTM plan, an extra 20-65GB will be automatically added onto the existing data allowance for the first three recharges depending on their plan, giving them a whopping upgrade on data.** 

** All data offers are valid for new customers only who activate or first recharge by 28 November 2022. $30-$70 Offers: First recharge by 28 November 2022 and third recharge by 24 January 2023 

AVAILABILITY AND PRICING:

Boost Mobile prepaid recharge offers are available online at http://boost.com.au/ or at one of 12,000 retail outlets Australia-wide including Coles stores. 

 

About Boost Mobile 

Since humble beginnings in August 2000, we've become a leading youth mobile brand. We're here to give you more... 

The team at Boost Mobile are dedicated to putting our customers first. With access to the full Telstra Mobile Network, we're pushing hard to bring you a great network, loads of data, no lock-in contracts with great value. 

We support many of the country's hottest artists, athletes, parties and events to bring you more rewards, content and VIP access just for being with us. 

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Boost offers access to the full Telstra network. Outside of 4G coverage areas, your device will automatically switch to 3G and speeds will be less.