GENERAL NEWS
AUSTRALIAN retailers are set to see $9 billion in sales in the last week before Christmas, with sales already up on last year.
According to the pre-Christmas re-forecast by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan, the festive retail sales are already up 1.0% on 2022 numbers at $67.4 billion.
The forecast has been upgraded after a successful Black Friday sales period and the Reserve Bank’s interest rate pause for the last meeting of the year.
“November trading by all accounts appears to have been strong, despite cost-of-living pressures, as shoppers capitalised on unprecedented deals and sales to tick off their Christmas...
“With that said, we’re still anticipating overall a subdued Christmas – with most Australian households now turning their attention to Christmas day and finalising their...
Over the period, food spending is forecasted to account for the largest share of Australian spending, at $27 billion of the overall spend, which would be up 3.2% from 2022 levels...
Both household goods and hospitality are expected to continue moderating in the lead up to Christmas, falling 3.0% and 1.5% respectively. This is being largely attributed to...
On the other hand, department store spending is anticipated to grow by 3.0%, followed by a boost of 1.6% for other retailing and 0.6% for clothing...
“The slight increase in spending this year is being inflated by unavoidable supply chain price increases, particularly in food, and an overall increase in Australia’s population,”...
“If you exclude these factors, overall Christmas spending is in decline. This makes for a competitive last week before Christmas amongst retailers, as traders compete for a smaller pool of...
South Australia is forecast to see the greatest gains on 2022, with a 2.6% increase, followed by the ACT at 2.0%, Western Australia at 1.6%, the Northern Territory at 1.2%, Victoria at...
Over the period, spending in New South Wales is expected to reach $21.3 billion, with spending in Victoria to reach $17.3 billion...
“For most discretionary retailers, up to two-thirds of their profit is made during the all-important Christmas trading period, so December remains a period of uncertainty...