Australians’ tipping habits are not keeping pace with higher menu prices, new research shows, as household costs soar and diners grapple with pandemic-era hospitality charges.
A report by Lightspeed Commerce, using payments platform data, found that the average tip amount dropped in August to 8.1% of a total bill.
This is the lowest amount in four years recorded by the point-of-sale and software company, and the first time it has dropped below 9% since early 2021.
I’m surprised to hear it’s that high in Australia. Edit: Like others I misread the stats. 8% is the average to amount of the tip, only 0.5% of transactions include tips. I just got back from the US and it’s awful over there.The last two times I remember tipping in Australia (excluding “keep the change”) was one for a local food truck I like during the pandemic lockdowns. The other was a few years before that at a restaurant after I told them we were there for my mum’s birthday to get a candle in the desert, the chef instead took her back into the kitchen and showed her how they prepared several of the dishes (and we got the candle).