Australians are shying away from real estate and shares in favour of bank deposits, despite record low interest rates.
Most consumers think the bank is the wisest place for savings, followed by paying off debt, getting into property or shares, or spending the cash, according to the Melbourne Institute and Westpac's consumer sentiment survey.
Contributing to superannuation was the least favoured option.
Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said attitudes appear more conservative than a year ago, with the proportion of respondents nominating bank deposits as their favoured home for savings rising from 27.4 per cent in March to 29.5 per cent in June.
CommSec chief economist Craig James agreed.
"Conservatism still reigns," he said.
"Banks are not giving super-high returns but still they remain the preferred place for savings. No matter how far rates are cut, banks are still holding court for savers."
In June, more people are opting to pay down debt than in May, while less favoured real estate and shares.
The monthly consumer sentiment survey found May's rate cut confidence rally has faded, though consumers are still upbeat.
"Coming after an 8.5 per cent surge in May, the small decline in June mostly represents a consolidation at improved levels," Mr Hassan said.
This pattern is fairly normal following monetary easing, he said..
The Reserve Bank cut the cash rate to an all time low of 1.75 per cent in May.
Overall, confidence remains in positive territory and is now 7.2 per cent above levels recorded a year ago.
Meanwhile, the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index found consumers seem unaffected by the marathon election campaign, with sentiment nearly four per cent above its long run average.
"Confidence has remained resilient over the past few weeks, despite the long election campaign and the fact that the polls remain particularly close," ANZ head of Australian economics Felicity Emmett said.
CommSec's Craig James said the key factors in both consumer confidence surveys relate to family finances.
"And the results suggest people are happy with the state of play, supportive of overall spending levels," he said.
