With 2024’s peak shopping season in the rearview mirror, consumer spending behaviours and responses to major retail sales events are coming into focus. Examining where and when people shopped reveals valuable insights for retailers as they hone their strategies ahead.
CommBank iQ’s Christmas and Boxing Day Insights shows that shoppers came out early and in force over the extended sales season. In fact, retail spending volumes reached all-time highs in the period between October and December 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, Australians spent an extra $3.1 billion on discretionary retail goods, lifting total spending 6.4 per cent to $51 billion.
Australians were quick to take advantage of discounts as retail sales ramped up, with record-breaking spending over Black Friday week. Spend over the Christmas week and on Boxing Day also set new watermarks, with a slowdown in purchasing activity through to the end of the year.
While it might appear that shoppers lifted their spending despite cost of living pressures, a closer look shows there is more to the story. For example, differences in spending across age groups and locations suggest those less affected by cost of living constraints kept spending up after Boxing Day.
This is just one finding unearthed by CommBank iQ’s analysis. Others relate to the spending trends by channel and category, revealing further insights into shopper preferences.
The peaks and troughs of festive season spending
After retail shoppers lifted spending during Black Friday week, all eyes were on whether this would continue into the Christmas and Boxing Day weeks. In the Christmas week, the data shows shoppers spent $4.4 billion in discretionary retail goods, up 6 per cent from 2023.
Looking at daily spending, Christmas week peaked on 23 December 2024, outpacing 2023’s highest day (22 December) by 3 per cent. On Boxing Day, spending surged as Australians spent $52 million or 7 per cent more than they did on that day in 2023.
However, the spike in spending activity on Boxing Day was short-lived as consumers gradually pulled back their spending as the new year approached. That meant overall spending growth over Boxing Day week rose 3.7 per cent from the previous year.
How cost of living impacts played out across the nation
While Christmas week spending growth was fairly consistent across age groups, activity diverged over Boxing Day week. Australians over 70 broke with the rest of the adult population, stepping up their spending from Boxing Day onwards. The growth rate slowed for all other age groups.
Given we know older Australians are more insulated from cost of living pressures, this may have played a role in post-Christmas spending behaviours. For most shoppers, heightened spending in the lead up to Christmas likely exhausted people’s budgets.
This theme was also present when considering shoppers’ locations. In regional Australia, where spending has held up better than metro areas in the face of higher living costs, shoppers maintained a 6 per cent spending growth over both Christmas and Boxing Day weeks. The same 6 per cent Christmas week spending growth for metro shoppers slowed to 3 per cent over Boxing Day week.
Even spending on food, drinks and groceries lifted considerably in the Christmas week compared to 2023, as Australians spent $178 million more year-on-year. It suggests that households were keen to make Christmas meals one to remember despite cost of living issues.
What and how people purchased over the sales season
Following the trend established during Black Friday week, online spending growth far outpaced in-store purchases during Christmas and Boxing Day weeks. Growth in online marketplace spending played an outsized role here. To put that into perspective, online spending leapt 13 per cent during Christmas week while in-store spending grew just 3 per cent.
A look at spending across discretionary retail categories reveals a similar multi-speed picture. Only general retail, discount department store and leisure spending maintained their growth rate through the Christmas and Boxing Day weeks. Other categories, including apparel, department stores, and household goods, saw falling spending growth.
While CommBank IQ’s [Christmas Spending Insights] provides just a top-line view of spending patterns over the year’s busiest retail sales, it offers a glimpse of what’s driving shopping behaviours. For retailers, going deeper into the data can help with benchmarking, understanding preferences among newly acquired and existing customers, and what’s driving growth.
- CommBank iQ can help bring data-driven spending intelligence and smarter decision-making to your business. To learn more, visit commbank.com.au/commbankiq.
About this research:
CommBank iQ uses the de-identified dataset of Australia’s largest bank to evaluate purchasing behaviours over a period of time. The analysis is based on transactions from approximately 7 million Australians scaled to represent the population.
Things you should know:
This document is provided by CommBank iQ, a joint venture between Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124(Commonwealth Bank) and the Quantium Group Pty Limited ABN 45 102 444 253 and is based on information available at the time of publishing.
This document is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. It does not have regard to the financial situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as financial product advice. You should consider seeking independent financial advice before making any decision based on this information. The information in this document and any opinions, conclusions or recommendations are reasonably held or made, based on the information available at the time of its publication but no representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is made or provided as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of any statement made in this document.
