In the lead up to Christmas.
Australian consumers will spend over $51 billion during the Christmas trading period from November 9 to December 24, 2018, according to predictions from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan. Over $9 billion is expected to be spent on household goods, a 2% increase from 2017.
ARA executive director, Russell Zimmerman said while the Australian retail industry has seen some patchy results in recent times, the ARA and Roy Morgan are forecasting Australian consumers to spend 2.9% more this Christmas compared to 2017.
“With consumer spending on the rise as noted in September’s retail trade figures, the ARA and Roy Morgan are confident that this year’s Christmas sales will remain strong during the festive season, with a 3.67% total year-on-year growth across the retail sector,” Zimmerman said.
Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia show the strongest predicted growth during Christmas trade this year.
“As the online retail market continues to expand, the ARA are also predicting online gift purchases to increase by 2.7% with Australian shoppers expected to purchase many of their gifts online this year.
“Each year, the ARA and Roy Morgan work together to produce the only professionally researched industry Christmas predictions in Australia, and we believe the figures represent a comprehensive preview of retail figures leading into Christmas.”