Shoppers are on track to drop a hefty $48 billion on festive cheer according to a forecast from the National Retail Association (NRA).
NRA CEO Dominique Lamb says that, despite sluggish retail spending, Aussie retailers will be run off their feet from next week through to December 31.
“Retailers have been preparing for months, recruiting extra staff who can take care of the extra foot traffic, help indecisive consumers find the right gift, as well as keep those piles of crumpled clothes and muddled-up racks under control, all without breaking a sweat!” Ms Lamb said.
“Students in particular love this time of year, as they can stock up on as many shifts as possible while they’re not in semester, and we’re seeing a great deal of workers choosing to maximise their earning capacity now to fund travel through the year,” she said.
The NRA says the industry is working together to better cater to shoppers’ growing need for speed and convenience, with both online and physical stores using better data-analytics tools to assess their channels and streamline their e-commerce portals.
“Retailers have really upped the ante on their fulfilment and delivery services this year, and will be using rapidly advancing technology to give more accurate feedback on changing consumer needs, to offer even better services into 2018,” she said.
| Projected spend (last two weeks of Nov through to Dec 31) | |
| NSW | $15.9 billion |
| VIC | $12.3 billion |
| QLD | $9.4 billion |
| SA | $3 billion |
| WA | $5.15 billion |
| TAS | $949 million |
| NT | $431 million |
| ACT | $883 million |
| TOTAL | $48 billion |