The majority of Australians still do their Christmas shopping at shopping centres, according to Stockland’s annual Christmas survey.
The retail landlord said that while Amazon has officially arrived in the country, customers still see the shopping centre as the go-to place to do their Christmas shopping, with 86 per cent of people purchasing majority of their gifts from shopping centres and 12 per cent online with a further one per cent from markets.
John Schroder, Stockland Group executive and CEO of Commercial Property, said shopping centres are town centres, vibrant meeting places for customers to not just shop but to dine, meet with friends and be entertained.
The annual Christmas survey also revealed that two-thirds (66 per cent) of the 1,100 people surveyed have started, or already finished, their Christmas shopping, with only four per cent expected to be buying the bulk of their buy gifts in this final week suggesting an increase in customers getting prepared this Christmas and taking advantage of the early sales from retailers.
“It is unsurprising to see that customers are so prepared,” Schroder said. “With regular promotions and sales across the year, customers have been savvy to jump on the bargains while they last and stock up early on their Christmas gifts.”
According to Schroder, they are anticipating good growth in specialty retail sales over the period and the continued resurgence in discount department store trade as shoppers seek value for money.
“We also expect to see further uplift in casual dining as people enjoy multiple shopping visits and stop for a coffee, lunch or dinner,” he said. “We also expect entertainment and leisure precincts to be popular, especially cinemas, with a host of new movies scheduled for imminent release and school holidays just around the corner.”
When it comes to how much consumers are willing to spend on gifts, 54 per cent of people anticipate keeping their budget to under $500, 31 per cent plan to spend between $500 and $1000 and 15 per cent will spend over $1,000.
Toys remain the top category (51 per cent), followed by food and drinks (29 per cent) and apparel (25 per cent). Gift cards and experiences continue to rise as popular choices with over half of respondents (60 per cent) set to snap up a retailer gift card this year and one quarter (26 per cent) to purchase an experience.
Stockland’s survey also highlights that Christmas is the season for togetherness and giving back with two thirds set to donate to charities, a fifth of people planning to volunteer this year and three quarters set to invite someone outside of their immediate family, who may be alone, to their Christmas Day festivities.
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