Retailers could experience the best Christmas in years if retail spending continues to increase as expected, the Australian National Retailers Association  (ANRA) says.

ABS figures released on Monday show spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent in September, higher than the 0.4 per cent forecast by economists.

The ANRA chief Margy Osmond said the figures were the best since February and she expected the good times to continue into the holiday season.

“We’re hoping we’re going to see something like a four per cent increase on spending from last Christmas,” she told reporters on Monday.

“That’s the best we’ve seen in many years and it tells you people are feeling a bit more confident about spending an extra dollar.”

Department stores were the biggest winners in September with spending up 2.8 per cent at $1.54 billion seasonally adjusted.

Osmond said the figures show people are feeling more confident after the federal election.

“We have said for some time that there would be a bump up after an election result,” she said.

“People have held off a lot of their spending activity … and afterwards they’ve said “great, we’re feeling a lot more confident now”.

Osmond said historically low interest rates had helped too, and she’s hoping for further rate cuts when the RBA board meets on Tuesday.

AAP