Shoppers will be out in their numbers this weekend looking to put the finishing touches on Christmas preparations, with the Australian National Retailers Association forecasting nationally almost $2.9 billion will be spent.ANRA CEO Anna McPhee stated retailers “expect this weekend to be one of the busiest of the year”, with extended trading hours to provide shoppers additional time to complete their preparations.
“A hive of activity will be seen across all retail formats and shopping precincts,” McPhee stated.
“Our survey of Christmas shoppers told us consumers will primarily be shopping in general merchandise (35 per cent), department stores (24 per cent), and specialty and small retailers (12 per cent).”
McPhee stated retailers “will be encouraged by the sector’s performance in 2014”.
“Since September 2013, retail turnover has continued to grow and a recent series of solid outcomes is helping drive the sector towards the long-term average annual growth rate of six per cent – a positive sign for the economy,” she commented.
McPhee added that the retail sector “will have a critical role to play in contributing to employment, wages, investment and economic growth in the future” as the federal government’s focus shifts to domestic growth.
“There’s no doubt retail is an important economic contributor: this year we expect the retail sector to contribute a little more than four per cent to Australia’s GDP and remain the largest private sector employer in the country, adding around 39,000 extra staff for December to the more than 1.2 million people the sector employs annually,” she stated.
