Cost of living and tech combine to end classic pub tradition   
Shouting a mate a beer at the pub is on the way out thanks to cost-of-living pressures and a technology breakthrough.


News.com.au
July 2, 2025

The humble pub shout is tipped to be a thing of the past as younger Australians shy away from it thanks to the help of a simple technology.

Australians are using QR codes as a way of individually ordering drinks at the table, ending the classic pub shout, research released by payments platform Tyro shows.

The QR code that came in post Covid has changed the way people buy drinks.

Tyro chief executive Jon Davey said the pub shout may become a thing of the past, as younger Aussies are quick to adapt to new ways of payment.

“Both (millennials and Gen Z) are more accustomed with modern ways of paying – these consumers are now used to paying individually at the table while they socialise rather than relying on one person to order for the whole group at a crowded bar,” he said.

According to the findings, millennials are the least likely to buy a friend a drink, with 42 per cent opting against that tradition, followed by Gen Z and Gen X.

Baby boomers are the most likely to shout a friend, but still one in three use QR codes as a way to avoid buying drinks.

The report also highlights cost-of-living pressures are clearly having an impact on Australians’ spending patterns, with nearly one in two Aussies changing their alcohol consumption due to costs, while one in 10 have quit the drink altogether.

Beyond drinking, more than half are now comparing prices, delaying non-essential purchases or hunting for discounts.

Not only are millennials the least likely to buy a drink for their friends, they are also the most annoyed at having to pay a holiday surcharge.


Australians say QR codes are making it easier to avoid a shout.

Gen Z and baby boomers represent more than 50 per cent of those willing to pay holiday surcharges to keep their local open, but only 19 per cent of millennials are happy to pay extra.

The Agrestic Grocer and Cafe owner Beau Baddock said these charges were essential for business.

“Holiday surcharging isn’t about making a profit, it’s about ensuring I can pay my hardworking staff their wages..... I also want to provide vistors and locals with somwhere to go.

“If we don’t on-charge our extra costs, we’d have to close,” Mr Baddock said.

whiteknight wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2025 at 7:57am:


More and more often the case is that they have no choice. Businesses are forcing customers onto the qr cods to save on staffing costs.
The last time i went to one of my favourite restaurants in brissie, one i go to every time I'm in Southbank, i actually started a fuss because there was no one to take my order and they wanted everything ordered and paid for through the qr code. I told him that if i wanted to do that i would have used uber eats

such a dumb way to treat customers. Dining out isn't just about the food, it's about the experience, and forcing everyone onto apps diminishes that experience. I won't be going back to that restaurant when i'm next in brissie

Sounds like an easy way to ply a young femme with liquor.... what Bruce the Deuce was accused of - trouble is - she was snorting liquor mixes and he was filmed buying four beers....

Gives new meaning to 'chain of evidence', don' it - that kind of chain is used to drag you under..... just tied around your feet and over the side you go...

Deuce must just about be free by now... free from the burden of carrying a ridiculous assertion against him for life while his drunken, sleeping on the couch accuser with no hard evidence walks the planet in a prime slot... paid by the UN via Gillard... that should tell you many things...

What chance ya reckon on my prediction that she'd re-invade Australia and stand for election as a heroine of poor women? What's one man's life compared to that great benefit for a society drowning in sheila sht while at the same time wondering why their war against men is ramping up instead of down, and REAL men and women are suffering?

Far chemical works ....

Apps are not secure.
It's obvious that Australian society is being pushed towards a less secure future. Qantas has just been scammed. Westpac, Optus and so on.
Dematerialising a physical economy into a shadow economy will only disempower Australians financially.