According to the Retail Council’s “Christmas Spending Index”, Australians retail spending for the 30 days to Christmas will indicate positive signal for the economy.
“Nationally, $35 billion is expected to be spent in the lead up to Christmas,” said Anna McPhee, the CEO of Retail Council. “This year’s forecasts indicate retail is in a slightly stronger position to build on last year’s performance and is on target to contribute more than 4.5 per cent to Australia’s GDP.”
Online purchases continue to be an important part of the retail offering, particularly at Christmas and are expected to make up around 16% of total sales over the period. To help service increased consumer demand over the Christmas period, the retail sector creates an additional 30,000 jobs on average at this time of year, as well as providing extra hours to existing retail workers.
The research is surveyed shoppers on Christmas shopping intentions and found a majority of shoppers plan to do most of their Christmas shopping in the coming weeks and go right up to Christmas Eve. In the week to Sunday, the total sales are anticipated to contribute of $5.25 billion value, as shoppers turn their thoughts to Christmas preparations. Sales are expected to continually build week on week to 24 December.