Joy to retailers, post-Christmas sales have come

THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan believe Aussies will extend their spending into the summer months following the Christmas rush, with the ARA and Roy Morgan predicting consumers to spend $18.3 billion nationwide from December 26, 2018 to January 15, 2019. 

With the festive season igniting a shopping frenzy across Australia, the ARA and Roy Morgan forecast that Aussies will continue to prolong their post-Christmas spend into the New Year, contributing to a 3.1 percent year-on-year lift in sales.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said the respectable growth is attributed to the post-Christmas trade bargains offered both in-store and online, as a vast amount of consumers will be on the lookout for the best deals.

“With Christmas being the peak season for trade, pre-Christmas sales have always been a busy time for retailers. However, post-Christmas sales are the opportune time for retailers to achieve their yearly sales targets prior to the New Year commencing,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“As the ‘Other retailing’ category is set to experience a 2.9 percent increase in growth over the post-Christmas period, the ARA and Roy Morgan foresee a large proportion of consumers heading online to take advantage of the generous discounts retailers have to offer.”

According the ARA and Roy Morgan, the Food and Apparel categories are each set to experience an impressive 3.8 percent growth throughout the post-Christmas trading period, with the ARA suspecting customers will be preparing their households and purchasing outfits to welcome in the New Year.

“With 2018 drawing to a close, Aussies will be stocking their fridges and purchasing new outfits ahead of the upcoming New Year festivities. As we ease into the summer months, we expect consumers will also be purchasing school uniforms as the kids head back to school,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Across the states, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia are prospected to post marginal gains, as Aussies will be setting their sights towards getting their hands on a bargain prior to the commencement of the new retail season,” Mr Zimmerman said.

While post-Christmas sales in New South Wales are projected to collect a striking $5.9 billion, Victoria will recognise the strongest proportional growth, with the ARA and Roy Morgan anticipating a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year. Tasmania is also expected to receive significant growth with a 4.4 percent uptick on the previous year.

“Although New South Wales are dominating this year in terms of total spend, Victoria and Tasmania should prove to be fierce contenders in overall growth terms during the post-Christmas sales, which will hopefully translate well-into the New Year,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“While the Australian retail landscape has faced various challenges throughout the 2018 year, we anticipate our pre-Christmas and post-Christmas predictions will be fulfilled and reflected next year through the arrival of ABS trade figures for December and January.

"Each year, the ARA proudly partners with Roy Morgan to deliver the only professionally researched and comprehensive retail figures in the industry, with accurate and proven year-on-year results."

ARA Roy Morgan Post-Christmas Sales Predictions

December 26 2018 - January 15 2018
 

2018 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by Category

Category	2017 Post-Christmas actual results ($mil)	2018 Post-Christmas sales forecast ($mil)	Predicted Growth
FOOD	7222	7498	3.8%
HH GOODS	3078	3146	2.2%
APPAREL	1384	1436	3.8%
DEPARTMENT STORES	1039	1043	0.4%
OTHER	2534	2608	2.9%
HOSPITALITY	2535	2614	3.1%
NATIONAL	17792	18346	3.1%

[ARA / ROY MORGAN]

 

2018 Post-Christmas Sales Growth by State

State	2017 Post-Christmas actual results ($mil)	2018 Post-Christmas sales forecast ($mil)	Predicted Growth
NSW	5735	5913	3.1%
VIC	4568	4820	5.5%
QLD	3541	3609	1.9%
SA	1177	1214	3.1%
WA	1918	1910	-0.4%
TAS	354	369	4.4%
NT	176	178	1.3%
ACT	323	334	3.4%
NATIONAL	17792	18346	3.1%

[ARA / ROY MORGAN]

https://www.retail.org.au/christmas-predictions/

 

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

About Roy Morgan:

Roy Morgan is Australia’s best known and longest established market research company, with an unparalleled reputation for reliable, accurate, meaningful, revealing market research. Proudly independent, the company now operates globally.

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