Australian shoppers have sailed through Black Friday to deliver a record retail spend for December, with a record $74.5 billion going through cash registers this Christmas period.
According to figures released by the Australian Retailers Association and Westpac, this represents an 8.6 per cent leap from 2021, and far surpasses the expected $64 billion Christmas spend this year.
Spending didn’t stop after presents were exchanged on Christmas Day, either, with Boxing Day sales jumping 15.3 per cent from 2021 to hit $1.23 billion. In addition, ARA and Roy Morgan project a 7.9 per cent post-Christmas sales increase through to January 15.
“This is without a doubt, the biggest festive season spend on record – it is unprecedented,” ARA CEO Paul Zahra said.
“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.”
Zahra notes that Australians clearly felt it was time to splash out.
“There are many elements driving this record spend. Australians are seeing shopping as an experience and a reward after such a challenging period,” he said.
“We also know that price increases continue to elevate these numbers with many Australians also motivated to get in ahead of price rises and leverage savings during the sales events.
“Boxing Day has once again cemented its status as the Grand Final of Australia’s favorite sport, shopping.
“The success shared by department stores in particular is truly outstanding, defying many predictions by commentators. It’s fantastic to also see the anticipated growth in clothing, footwear and personal accessory sales – another category that has experienced strong headwinds in recent years.
“These fabulous results really tie a bow on an extremely successful year for retail as we head into a period of greater uncertainty in 2023.”
