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.
Routine/Daily tips should always only be rounding errors. If a coffee costs $4.50, the coffee shop Tip Jar got 50c. It is there so you can avoid carrying around Silver change. If you need that extra 50c so you can afford your Saturday coffee, you are not obliged to use the Tip Jar. Even if you don’t need that extra 50c there should not be an obligation to tip.