There were some huge spending forecasts bandied about for the festive season from the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the National Retailers Association (NRA). Both organisations predicted figures north of $60 billion.
But even those figures fell well short of the reality. Australian consumers defied all the predictions to spend a record-breaking $74.5 billion – an increase of 8.6 per cent on last year’s total.
Boxing Day trading also witnessed stellar growth as retailers saw the day’s spend hit $1.23 billion – up 15.3 per cent compared to 2021.
Consumers boosted department store revenues by 23.6 per cent on Boxing Day to $149.4 million. A trend also evident in fashion as apparel and accessory sales jumped 19.8 per cent to $217.59 million on the day.
The big winner on Boxing Day was household goods, which secured the number one slot for purchases at $314.76 million – up 14.3 per cent. Other Retailing, including beauty, also saw double digit gains on the 26th to $167.91 million – up 12.4 per cent year-on-year.
This is without doubt the biggest festive season spend on record – it is unprecedented, said Paul Zahra, CEO of the ARA.
“It is remarkable that in this period of economic turbulence, traders have well and truly smashed it out of the ballpark as consumers revelled in ‘freedom’ spending.
“An unrivalled $74.5 billion spend leading up to Christmas still didn’t diminish the spending appetite of Aussies leading into the year’s marquee retail savings event. Boxing Day has once again cemented its status as the Grand Final of Australia’s favourite sport – shopping.”
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