Electric cars and canned tomatoes: How shoppers are coping with the war

April 13, 2026 — 3:41pm

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Australians have been war-spooked into changing their spending patterns as they grapple with higher fuel prices and rising expectations for inflation.

Discretionary spending took a hit in March – a month when we saw a spike in the hoarding of canned food and 161 per cent surge in loans to buy electric vehicles.

While we have not seen any meaningful decline in the quantity of spending, its composition has moved around, with a proportionately higher amount going to fuel and cost-of-living categories.

Consumers are adopting a bunker mentality – reflecting their uncertainty about the supply and price of petrol, how this will feed into prices at the supermarket........

© Brisbane Times