Roy Morgan’s annual Christmas retail sales forecast suggests spending will increase by 2.6 per cent from $51.4 billion of retail expenditure during the 2018 Christmas trading period.
Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said, “Christmas retail spending forecasts predict a spending increase of 2.6 per cent in 2019.”
“This is slightly below the 2.8 per cent growth of a year ago, although it remains well above the current ABS inflation rate of 1.7 per cent,” she noted.
Growth in retail expenditure is predicted across all six categories measured, with spending on food expected to grow by 3.2 per cent from a year ago to nearly $21.7 billion.
Also set to grow strongly will be apparel, including clothing, footwear and accessories, up 3 per cent to almost $4.2 billion.
Hospitality businesses are forecast to grow by 2.3 per cent to an expenditure of well over $7.4 billion, and an impressive $8.8 billion is expected to be spent on household goods this Christmas, an increase of 0.6 per cent from a year ago.
Department stores are set to experience slower growth than other categories, up by 0.5 per cent, to overall spending of almost $3 billion.
Australians cutting back
While it’s predicted that Australians will spend more collectively, individuals are looking to cut back, according to St.George.
St.George’s Christmas Spending report, which surveyed 1,000 Australians, showed that:
- 43 per cent of households have agreed on spending limits
- 31 per cent plan to give few presents this year
- Households have set themselves an average spending limit of $500 on gifts
nestegg previously reported that one in three Australians now considers Christmas to be the “most wasteful time of the year”.
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