Australians look set to spend $2.5 billion on this year’s Boxing Day shopping event, with the Australian Retailers Association predicting it to be the biggest trading day of the year.
Over the post-Christmas sales period, shoppers are expected to spend a total of $18.3 billion nationwide between Boxing Day and January 15th, according to the ARA and market research firm Roy Morgan.
“The ARA and Roy Morgan’s combined annual research forecasted a 3.1 per cent increase in post-Christmas sales and as Boxing Day signifies the commencement of the post-Christmas trading period, retailers across Australia are eager to welcome the day with open doors,” ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said.
It is expected that New South Wales will see approximately $790 million in sales over the 24-hour period, while Victoria will follow closely with $786 million in sales.
Highpoint Shopping Centre, Victoria, noted its intent to remain open for 16 hours over the Boxing Day trade period, with more than 500 of its retailers opening shop from 7am.
However, beyond Boxing Day Victoria is set to see 5.5 per cent growth in sales compared to the same period a year prior, from $4.5 billion to $4.8 billion, while New South Wales is likely to see a more moderate 3.1 per cent growth – from $7.2 billion to $7.49 billion.
While Zimmerman notes that bricks-and-mortar retailers should prepare for the season’s extraordinary increase in foot-traffic, he goes on to explain the online retailers should ensure e-commerce platforms have the capacity to handle the increased traffic – with many shoppers likely to turn to online to skip the queue.
According to research from PayPal, a quarter of Australian shoppers are likely to head online this Boxing Day, with 70 per cent adding that shopping online is less stressful.
Millennial shoppers are leading the charge in this respect, with over half of those surveyed responding that they would be shopping online through the 24-hour period.
“Australians are looking for the best deals, not the stress that’s traditionally associated with heading out to the shops for the Boxing Day sales,” PayPal shopping expert Liz Lefort said.
“Increasingly those deals, or better deals can be found online, and Aussie shoppers are taking heed of that.”
Online marketplace Amazon offered Black Friday discounts across many popular categories including fitness, electronics, homewares and across its newly launched pantry food and drinks range [link].
“Whether customers are feeling the holiday overindulgence and are looking to kit themselves out with a fitness tracker and activewear, [or] they forgot to ask Santa for the video game or headphones they want… we hope there is something for everyone,”Amazon Australia country manager Rocco Braeuniger said.
Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.
