SAS Group client the National Retail Association (NRA) has officially unveiled its Christmas sales forecasts.
The Christmas trade period - the second-half of November and all of December - is the busiest time of the year for the sector and there are high hopes for a strong festive season following a turbulent 2020.
Indeed, the NRA is optimistic that Christmas 2020 will mark the start of a retail recovery. There are signs that Australians do have more discretionary power than usual, due to factors such as being unable to travel overseas, the continuation of government assistance measures and a thirst to get out of the house following periods of lockdown. According to the Westpac consumer sentiment survey released last Thursday consumer confidence rose in early November to the highest level in seven years.
Overall, the NRA is forecasting total retail sales across the Christmas period to break the $50 billion mark. They’re anticipating increased turnover on Christmas 2019 across each state and territory, as well as online spending to total more than $5 billion.
Last Friday the SAS Group coordinated the press conference to officially announce the 2020 forecasts at David Jones in the Brisbane CBD. Television crews and reports from channels 7, 9 and 10 were all in attendance.
A state-by-state breakdown of the NRA’s 2020 Christmas forecasts and the projected online spend is tabled below:
|
STATE |
2019 Spend |
2020 Forecast Spend |
% Increase from 2019 |
|
NSW |
$15.9 Billion |
$16.7 Billion |
5% |
|
VIC |
$13.2 Billion |
$13.8 Billion |
4% |
|
QLD |
$10 Billion |
$10.6 Billion |
6% |
|
SA |
$3.2 Billion |
$3.3 Billion |
4% |
|
WA |
$5.2 Billion |
$5.5 Billion |
6% |
|
TAS |
$1 Billion |
$1.05 Billion |
5% |
|
NT |
$419 Million |
$431 Million |
3% |
|
ACT |
$931 Million |
$978 Million |
5% |
|
TOTAL |
$49.9 Billion |
$52.4 Billion |
5% |
|
ONLINE |
2019 Spend |
2020 Forecast |
% Increase |
|
TOTAL |
$3.4 Billion |
$5.2 Billion |
53% |