It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for outdoor leisure retailers with barbecues, camping, and outdoor leisure equipment tipped to rise 135 per cent in the lead up to Christmas.

New research released by the Australian Retailers Association’s (ARA) and Roy Morgan looked at last year’s Christmas shopping period between November 2013 to January 2014, compared to the rest of the year, and found the categories showing the largest growth during the Christmas period are barbecues, camping, and outdoor leisure equipment (up 135 per cent), perfume and aftershave (up 58 per cent), and women’s dresses (up 54 per cent).

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said these results reflect current consumer buying patterns, with shoppers not only starting to stock up on traditional best selling gifts such as perfume, aftershave, and clothing but also the latest barbecue and camping equipment.

“The expected rise in sales of 135 percent is music to the ears of Australian outdoor leisure retailers who have been doing it extremely tough over winter,” said Zimmerman.

“When comparing hottest Christmas items of 2013 with hottest Christmas items of 2012, there are a few notable trends that we can expect to see reflected in this year’s Christmas sales.

“Interestingly, women’s jumpers take the top spot with an increase in sales by over 40 per cent year on year. Women’s sleepwear sales are also up significantly (36 per cent) but are offset by falls in other women’s apparel categories including jeans (-43 per cent), sportswear (-38 per cent), socks (-29 per cent) and coats (-27 per cent).

“Car care products will remain great stocking fillers (up 28 per cent) as well as craft and hobby related products which are set to experience a jump in sales by 27 per cent this Christmas,” Zimmerman said.

According to data by the ARA and Roy Morgan, Australian shoppers are tipped to spend $45 billion from November 15 until December 24, representing a 4.3 per cent gain on sales during the same period in 2013 ($43 billion).