Ongoing concerns over cost-of-living continue to be reflected in online consumption data.

News Corp Australia has claimed the top spot in digital news audiences for the 17th consecutive month and says the May result was driven by cost-of-living concerns reaching crisis levels for many Australians, according to News.com.au Editor Kerry Warren.

"The Federal Budget captured readers' interest, with the most audience-driven to stories about measures to ease the cost of living, such as the $300 energy rebates. But alongside this was news of the collapse of several Australian businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, and personal stories about the rental crisis, which is hitting young Aussies particularly hard," said Warren.

Meanwhile cut-price Chinese ecommerce vendor Temu is also benefitting. 

Chinese e-commerce shopping site Temu saw the biggest growth among online retail brands, increasing its audience by +39.7%, followed by Coles Group, which was up +18.8%. Temu is now the 5th largest online retail brand in Australia, with more than 11 million Australians using its app or website.

The largest growth in retail sub-categories was for flower shopping for Mother’s Day, which jumped by +28.6% compared to April and by +21.2% compared to February 2024. Restaurants and pubs websites and apps saw their biggest audiences for 2024 in May, with more than 5.9 million people, up 5.8% on April.

According to the data almost 21.1 million Australians aged 14+ used a retail or commerce website or app in May.