According to a survey carried out by the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA), 64 per cent of Australians have admitted to not finishing their Christmas shopping. The retail body is warning retailers to be prepared for a busy week.
The ANRA conducted the survey of 1,000 people last week and the results demonstrated that only 35 per cent had fully completed their shopping, 36 per cent had only partly completed their shopping and an alarming 29 per cent hadn’t even started.
“With 64 per cent of people still yet to get their shopping done, retailers can expect a rush over the next three or four days,” said ANRA CEO Margy Osmond.
Osmond also highlighted the amount of pre-Christmas sales may have influenced consumers to do their shopping a little later than usual this year.
“It is easy to see why people are leaving their shopping until the last minute as there is a large amount of pre-Christmas discounting going on,” she said.
“Australians have been caught up in the spirit of giving, with 35 per cent of respondents saying they had spent more on Christmas presents this year then they had planned to.”
Consumer electronics was one particular area where consumers have been extra generous in the lead up to Christmas, with 44 per cent claiming they spent more than they expected.
“As we enter the final stages, we expect to see a run on books, CDs, DVDs and boxed perfumes and cosmetics as they are easy to wrap.”