Record consumer spending set to continue after Christmas

By Jon Bragg

December 13 2021
Share

Australian shoppers are expected to maintain record levels of spending.

Record consumer spending set to continue after Christmas

Australian shoppers will spend a record $21 billion during post-Christmas sales, according to forecasts from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan, continuing a record-breaking shopping season for local retailers.

Spending in stores and online between Boxing Day and 15 January is forecast to be 12.6 per cent higher than before the pandemic in 2019 and 2.1 per cent higher than in 2020.

“It’s great to see people out and about in great numbers enjoying some retail therapy after another year disrupted by COVID,” said ARA chief executive Paul Zahra.

“We’re continuing to see a lot of pent-up demand for shopping after the Delta lockdowns. We’ve experienced a record-breaking Black Friday with sales exceeding expectations, and that’s provided businesses with strong momentum for this critical trading period.”

Data from NAB indicated that over $8 billion was spent between Black Friday and Cyber Monday last month, beating predictions by more than $2.5 billion.

The National Retail Association previously estimated that $60 billion would be spent during the pre-Christmas shopping period, with a similar forecast made by the ARA.

During the post-Christmas period, the ARA and Roy Morgan expect spending on hospitality will increase by 10.7 per cent to $2.9 billion compared to last year, while spending on clothing, footwear and accessories is expected to rise 6.9 per cent to $1.7 billion.

Food was the only category where spending is expected to fall with a dip of 1 per cent to $8.4 billion.

“Australians have saved up many dollars over the last two years that they’ve been prevented from spending due to lockdowns, border closures and other restrictions on travel,” said Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine.

“While there still exists some uncertainty about travel conditions over the next few months, the loosened restrictions around the country do provide an opportunity for retailers looking to maximise their revenues and tap into what is forecast to be a record summer retailing period.”

Among the states and territories, Tasmanians are expected to increase their spending the most compared to 2020, with forecasted growth of 8.6 per cent.

Higher spending is also expected in Victoria (6.6 per cent), Western Australia (3.3 per cent), South Australia (2.9 per cent) and the ACT (1.5 per cent), while spending will remain relatively flat in NSW (0.4 per cent) and fall slightly in the Northern Territory (-0.9 per cent) and Queensland (-2 per cent).

“The Boxing Day sales are a key event on the retail calendar and with the states and territories staying committed to their reopening plans, we can look forward to a bumper trading period,” said Mr Zahra.

“However, challenges remain with staff shortages and ongoing supply chain issues, which may have an impact on the ability of retailers to expediate their financial recovery. We are working closely with government to ensure that any barriers to recovery are solved as quickly as possible.”

sections

sections

sections

sections

sections

sections

sections

Invest