12 November 2025

What Deloitte’s 2025 Consumer Insights Report tells us about Australia’s changing media habits

Australians are consuming less, but more intentionally

Australians are rethinking their media diet, according to Deloitte’s Consumer Insights 2025 Report. Total time spent on digital entertainment has dropped another 3.4% this year, but that doesn’t mean disengagement; it means discernment. Consumers are becoming more selective about where and how they spend attention, prioritising content that feels meaningful or personalised.

Ori Gold, CEO of Bench Media (a partner to Louder), says this shift is forcing marketers to rethink how they define effective reach.

“Australians are cutting back on the amount of media they consume, but they are paying more attention when they do engage. That is the real shift. We’re telling clients to worry less about blasting people everywhere and more about landing in the right places with work that actually earns a moment. If people are watching less and it costs more to reach them, you can’t rely on spray-and-pray frequency anymore. Keep it tighter, cleaner, and make the creative fit the way people really watch.”

Audio stands out as the lone growth category, surging 33% year-on-year, driven by curated playlists, podcasts, and a deeper cultural connection to music. Gold calls it the “quiet achiever” of the mix.

“Its growth is a testament to the potential it still has and its effectiveness. The brands doing it well aren’t overthinking it. They use simple, memorable lines, smart placements that are contextually relevant, and voices people actually like. It builds recall without shouting.”

For brands, this signals a need to rethink measurement frameworks, less about volume, more about value.

The subscription squeeze: Choice fatigue meets budget pressure

Australians now hold an average of 3.7 digital subscriptions, the biggest increase since the pandemic. But with costs climbing from $63 to $78 per month, 78% say they’re worried about overspending, and 36% admit they already are.

Gen Z leads the charge here, paying over $100 per month, more than any other generation, while also being the most likely to share or split accounts.

Gold believes this “subscription fatigue” will reshape the video landscape.

“Most Australians are worried about the cost, and plenty are overspending,” he says. “That naturally pushes more people back into ad-supported options. Next year isn’t about choosing between paid or free environments, it’s about planning across both, because that’s how audiences behave now.”

As audiences weigh cost against convenience, FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) and AVOD platforms could see renewed interest.

Social’s quiet decline, and the YouTube exception

Social media use is down 15% overall, continuing last year’s slide. The standout? YouTube, which has cemented itself as the “middle ground” between traditional TV and social feeds.

More than a third of Australians now say YouTube meets all their video needs, reducing reliance on paid SVOD services. For younger audiences, YouTube isn’t just a video library; it’s a home for creator-led content that drives discovery, influence, and purchase decisions.

“YouTube has become the place where everything collides,” Gold says. “Younger audiences treat it the same way older generations treated TV, but with the pace and personality of social. They move between long-form stories, Shorts, creators, reviews, music and whatever the algorithm throws at them.

“Brands need to show up with work that fits the way people actually watch, not repurposed leftovers. Think of it as a platform where you can build depth with longer pieces and ride cultural moments with fast, tight cutdowns. Measurement needs to follow that behaviour, not old TV rules.”

Daniel Lim, Paid Media Lead at Louder, adds: “The user journey is connected yet complex, Google calls it the Messy Middle. The way people move between YouTube, FAST and AVOD means measurement can’t live in silos anymore.”

“Marketers need to see how exposure across each environment contributes to real outcomes, not just isolated metrics. At Louder, we’re helping clients connect those dots through unified tagging and data models that follow the user, not the channel,” Lim explains.

Gen Z: From audience to creator

Nearly four in ten Gen Zs (39%) have either been or are considering becoming content creators, primarily for commercial reasons. This is less about fame and more about entrepreneurship, monetising passions, communities, and cultural capital.

For brands, that means influencer marketing must evolve beyond endorsement to collaboration. Partnering with creators who understand audience context and data-driven personalisation will outperform one-off sponsorships.

The privacy paradox: Safety and trust still matter

Despite new regulations, 64% of parents remain concerned about social media’s impact on children, and just 37% feel current restrictions are effective. Meanwhile, trust in traditional publishers remains high, with national and regional news outlets rated most reliable, far ahead of influencer-led news.

Gold says consumers want “seamless relevance,” not surveillance.

“People want relevance, but they don’t want to feel tracked. At Bench, we’re leaning into transparency, using cleaner and value-adding data sets, and sticking to environments where clients don’t have to second-guess safety. Precision only works if the audience feels comfortable and gets value. That’s the balance we keep.”

This creates both an ethical and strategic imperative: privacy-first storytelling is not just compliance, it’s currency. Marketers who can prove responsible data use and transparent targeting will earn the right to attention.

What this means for marketers

• Shift from reach to resonance: With consumption time shrinking, effectiveness will depend on emotional and contextual fit, not volume.
• Rethink ad experiences: Ad-free doesn’t mean ad-averse. Consumers will accept advertising that adds value, especially in audio and sports contexts.
• Build trust with transparency: As consent frameworks tighten, brands must show, not just say, how they protect and respect user data.
• Plan for hybrid viewing: FAST, YouTube, and AVOD are now core parts of Australia’s viewing mix, not fringe channels.

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