Grim prediction that 'you won't get a hairdresser appointment before Christmas' as Melbourne and Sydney locals flood shops and restaurants for 'revenge spending' after lockdown
Hairdressers will be booked out until Christmas amid a wave of pent-up demand when lockdowns end in Melbourne and Sydney, a top finance boss has predicted.
Latitude CEO Ahmed Fahour said the personal lender expects a repeat of what happened in Victoria in November 2020 - when its loan volumes increased by 43 per cent at the end of the state's second wave of Covid-19 cases.
He said those living in Australia's two largest cities will want to get out and 'enjoy life' again once shops and restaurants re-open.
Hairdressers and salons will be booked out until Christmas amid a wave of pent-up demand when lockdowns end in Melbourne and Sydney, a top finance boss has predicted. Pictured is a hairdresser in Brisbane during the Covid-19 pandemic
Australians are set to enjoy a wave of 'revenge spending' when lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney end - where consumers try to make up for lost time by buying items or experiences they missed out on during the pandemic. Pictured are Sydneysiders in Bondi on August 14
'Hairdressers, beauty salons, all these things – you will not be able to get an appointment in NSW. It will be booked out,' Mr Fahour told The Australian Financial Review.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged easing restrictions significantly when 80 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated - which she forecasts will happen by mid-November.
Mr Fahour said the rising vaccination figures and low levels of consumer debt in Australia gave him confidence the market would rebound post-lockdown.
'Once we get out of this environment, you will see a huge explosion in growth because people want to enjoy life, they want to enjoy Christmas,' Mr Fahour said.
The trend is known as 'revenge spending' - where consumers try to make up for lost time by buying items or experiences they missed out on during the pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pinning hopes on the national plan to open up the economy once vaccination rates of 70 and 80 per cent are met.
Just over 30 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated at present.
Latitude CEO Ahmed Fahour said Australians living in the country's two largest cities will want to get out and 'enjoy life' again once shops and restaurants re-open. Pictured are pedestrians in Lakemba in Sydney's locked-down south-western suburbs on August 20
On Monday, he hit out at rogue states who are threatening to keep Covid-19 restrictions even after high vaccination rates are achieved as he declared 'this Groundhog Day has to end'.
Queensland has joined Western Australia in threatening to maintain restrictions such as border closures even after 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated.
'It does puzzle me - it puzzles me - why anyone would want to go against a plan that has been so carefully prepared,' he said.
Referring to lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney, he said: 'This is not a sustainable way to live in this country, without those freedoms that we all cherish.'
What are the four phases of opening up?
A. Vaccinate, prepare and pilot (from July 14)
Arrival caps cut in half to 3,035 a week; early, stringent and short lockdowns if outbreaks occur; trials of seven-day home quarantine for vaccinated arrivals in South Australia; medicare vaccination certificates available on apps like apple wallet
B. Post vaccination phase (when 70 per cent are jabbed, expected late this year)
Lockdowns less likely but possible; vaccinated people face reduced restrictions; caps for unvaccinated arrivals increased; a larger cap for vaccinated arrivals with 'reduced quarantine requirements'; capped entry for students and economic visa holders
C. Consolidation phase (when 80 per cent are jabbed, time not announced)
Only 'highly targeted' lockdowns; lifting all restrictions for outbound travel for vaccinated travellers; no caps for vaccinated arrivals; increased caps for students and visa holders; more travel bubbles being set up with countries such as Singapore; booster shots rolled out
D. Final phase (percentage or time not announced)
Uncapped arrivals for vaccinated people without any quarantine and uncapped arrivals for unvaccinated people with testing before departure and on arrival
