HUNTER residents panic bought at the supermarket then stocked up on things to cope in comfort and "feather the nest" during the COVID-19 lockdown, new figures show.
A debit and credit card survey of 320,000 Newcastle Permanent customers - 200,000 of them in the Hunter - between April 16 and May 13 reveals consumers spent 38 per cent more on food and groceries ($31,543,582) compared to the same period in 2019 ($22,933,845).
Purchases of electronic goods more than doubled, with customers spending $4,691,016 on these items during lockdown compared to $2,222,793 in the same period last year, a 111 per cent increase.
Home improvements were popular, rising 71 per cent as consumers spent $16,825,250 on items to renovate or improve their home compared to $9,867,973 last year.
Newcastle Permanent chief customer and product officer James Cudmore said that overall spending was down slightly compared to last year, with the most negatively impacted categories being airlines, travel services, accommodation and vehicle rentals.
Spending on airline flights fell 96 per cent from $1,349,237 in 2019 to $51,730 during the peak lockdown period.
Mr Cudmore said when COVID-19 first hit, the Perm's figures showed customers had spent 60% more at the supermarket, however the figure fell to 40 per cent in the survey period.
"Although consumers were assured supermarkets would remain open, our region wasn't immune to the bulk-buying that gripped most of Australia and that was an interesting trend to watch," he said.
"That's now down...which shows that consumers are becoming more comfortable and they're seeing supplies on the shelves, realising they are not going to be left high and dry.
"There was also a 26% rise in pharmacy spend as consumers stocked up on cold and flu medicine."
Mr Cudmore said one unusual spike in the numbers was direct marketing, up 74 per cent, and subscriptions to wholesale clubs offering discounted goods and bulk buys: "This is normally not a strong category in our reports."
The Perm survey came after recent national figures show household consumption expenditure decreased -1.1 per cent in the December quarter, the largest quarterly decline in consumption in 34 years.
Adamstown Heights resident Jess Struck said her family of five's grocery bill had risen during COVID-19, however she said that was also due to the fact that, well, they were in lockdown.
"Instead of going out to eat out we bought food, tried new recipes and I baked chocolate chips with the kids every few days," she said.
Ms Struck continued working part-time in her marketing role and parenting while her husband Brendan, a freelance graphic designer, found his Monday to Friday contract work in Sydney dwindled to a halt.
With more time at home, Mr Struck built what his wife calls an "iso cubby" - to keep himself busy and provide some joy for his offspring.
"Our our kids weren't allowed on the playground, we thought we'd bring it to home," said Mrs Struck. "We didn't know how long we would be at home."
Mrs Struck said her family had enough electronic devices but bought an additional streaming service in case lockdown dragged on.
When she resumed going to her office, she bought coffee at her regular cafe near work in a bid to consciously shop local.
Mrs Struck said it was a relief to resume "a version" of normal life.
"We chose to remember the good things in being stuck at home with the kids for 12 weeks," she said. "Not all of it was roses, it's lovely now to see people in real life rather than on screen."
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