Younger Aussies are hitting pause on subscriptions to streaming services – and enjoying considerable savings, research shows.
New data from NAB has revealed that more than four in ten people under 30 have culled their streaming services since mid-year to save money, while one in three more broadly had made similar changes.
Gen Zs and younger Australians are saving more than $76 each month by cutting back on streaming services as well as other subscriptions, totalling more than $900 each year in savings.
NAB Personal Banking Executive Kylie Young said Aussies were increasingly turning to budgeting tools from their bank for easy ways to prioritise their spending and contend with the rising cost of living.
“Younger Australians are hitting pause on streaming services and choosing spending control rather than their remote control”, Young said.
“With so many streaming platforms and so much content split across different services, Australians are prioritising what they want to watch and how much they want to save.”
More were cutting back on streaming now than mid-year (up 4%), and since the start of 2023 (up 9%), saving an average $32 each month, while savings climbed to $38 per month for Australians under 30.
NAB data has also revealed Australians were less likely to give up subscriptions to newspapers, news sites, magazines, audio books and apps and premium subscriptions (29%) than streaming services (34%). Savings from cutting back on these subscriptions totalled $27 per month, or $38 for those under 30.
“Australians are choosing to stay informed, connected and they’re prioritising spending on premium lifestyle subscriptions including news, magazines and even paid dating apps over streaming”, Young said.
“Many streaming services are easily paused, while other subscriptions are ‘stickier’ and require a longer lead time to cancel or may arrive more infrequently, such as quarterly magazines”, she concluded.
