The traditional Australian pub custom of buying rounds, known as the 'shout', is fading fast as cost-of-living pressures mount. New data from Tyro Payments reveals that nearly half of Aussies (49 per cent) have changed their drinking habits due to rising costs, with one in 10 cutting out alcohol entirely.
The research, based on over 1000 participants and 30 million food and drink orders, shows that Australians are now 35 per cent less likely to buy rounds for friends compared to last year. Instead, they are opting to split bills or pay for their own drinks, often using QR codes to order and avoid the awkwardness of round-buying.
The trend is most pronounced among millennials, with 42 per cent using QR codes specifically to sidestep shouts, followed by 38 per cent of Gen Z, 37 per cent of Gen X, and 33 per cent of Baby Boomers. The ease of bank transfers also makes settling up simpler without unclaimed rounds.
Brian Sarkis, General Manager of ArtHouse Hotel in Sydney and co-owner of East Village Hotel in Darlinghurst, has observed this shift firsthand. 'Buying a round for six people in today’s market, that’s a big hit to the wallet. The whole “shouting” thing has pretty much disappeared,' he said. He noted that customers now calculate their spending before arriving and stick to a budget.
The change is not limited to Australia. A New York Times article reported similar trends in the US, where Gen Z prefers swiping cards per drink rather than opening tabs, using Apple Pay for 'one-and-done' transactions to curb overspending.
