New data shows café spending remains a leading discretionary purchase – BeanScene

Australian café operators are absorbing rising business costs and resisting significant menu price indicators, new data from Hey You and Westpac Data X suggests.

In the Australia’s Daily Brew 2026 report, which combines anonymised banking transaction data with café ordering behaviour, the price of the average coffee rose just 1.65 per cent year-on-year in June 2026 to $4.69.

This rise is the smallest annual average rise since 2020, and well below inflation.

The report found cafés are looking to compete on value rather than passing on costs, with promotional orders surging 90 per cent year-on-year, suggesting a preference for offers over broader price rises from venue owners.

Overall, Australia’s café category saw a small decline in overall year-on-year spending during June 2026, but despite the 1.4 per cent drop customers are not reducing their spend when they visit.

Average café spending per customer over the year remained largely unchanged at $87.73, with average order value actually increasing 1.2 per cent to $17.90.

Total transactions declined 2.6 per cent, with active customers falling 1.3 per cent.

More than 600 café owners were also surveyed for the report, of which 83 per cent reported a decline in customer visits over the past 12 months.

The report also examined the potential impact of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s proposed card surcharge reforms. One-third of operators surveyed said they had already adjusted pricing to absorb the additional cost burden, while two-thirds indicated they had no plans to change prices.

According to the report, cafés continue to absorb multiple cost pressures simultaneously, while attempting to avoid frequent menu increases that could affect consumer confidence.

The strategy appears to be helping maintain coffee’s position as one of Australia’s most accessible discretionary purchases.

State data further reinforces the competitive nature of the market. Victoria recorded the country’s lowest average coffee price at $4.61, while also posting the smallest annual increase at 1.11 per cent. At the other end of the scale, Tasmania recorded the highest average coffee price at $5.44, while Queensland experienced the largest annual increase, rising 7.81 per cent to $5.17.