What are Australians’ top New Year Resolutions for 2024?

With the new calendar year unfolding in Australia, it's more than just a change in dates – it's an opportunity for reflection and renewal.

In this article, we dive into the goals that Australia’s denizens most want to achieve in 2024 – and how these have changed since the year before across genders and generations – which can provide marketers key insights on how best to engage consumers this year.

What do Australians most want to achieve in 2024?

Latest YouGov Surveys research show that almost half (49%) of Australian residents say they plan to improve their physical health in 2024 – the top New Year resolution.

Accordingly, brands seeking to connect with consumers in 2024 would do well with speaking to their desire for effective wellness solutions.

Over a third also hope to improve their mental health (36%) and manage their money better (34%) this year – while spending more time with friends/family (30%) and travelling more (27%) are the next most common new year goals.

While the top three new year resolutions for 2024 are unchanged from 2023, there is a slight increase in Aussies who are hoping to spend less time on social media (+4%) and seeking better mental health (+2%) this year.

In contrast, there is a slight dip in consumers who have set goals to reduce/stop drinking alcohol (-4%), make more sustainable purchases (-3%) and spend more time with friends/family and travel more (both -2%).

How do various age groups differ in their new year resolutions?

Across generations, improving physical health is the top new year resolution. But while improving mental health and better money management are the next most popular goals among Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X, travelling more and spending more time with friends/family are next most popular among Baby Boomers.

Notably, compared to other generations, a significantly larger proportion of Gen Z (33%) say they hope to spend less time on social media and their phones in 2024, while a significantly larger proportion of Millennials (25%) say making more sustainable purchases in 2024 is on their list of resolutions.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2,044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online from December 2022 to October 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

_{Cover Photo by Elias Bitar}