Pre-Christmas sales forecast to reach $63.9 billion – this is up 3%

Australian retail sales are set to remain strong over the festive trading period, with Australian consumers set to spend over $1 billion a day on retail in the run-up to Christmas despite extensive cost-of-living challenges according to Roy Morgan’s 2022 pre-Christmas sales forecasts released in collaboration with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA).

Australians are forecast to spend $63.9 billion in pre-Christmas sales (November 14 – December 24), up 3% from last year. Hospitality businesses are set to flourish in the run-up to Christmas, with over $9 billion in trade – up 16.3% in 2021.

Out of the states and territories, South Australia is set to record the most significant growth in sales last year (up 6.6%), followed by the Northern Territory (up 6.5%). Consumers in NSW are forecast to spend nearly $20 billion in pre-Christmas sales (up 3.1% in 2021), with Victorians to fork out $16.5 billion (up 0.8%) and Queenslanders $13.3 billion (up 4.6%).

More details are here.

One point before you get excited is that based on the latest predictions, the interest cash rate in Australia is expected to climb to 3.35%, labour has already risen about 2.7% in the first six months of the year with more to follow, rents are forecast to grow by 11% this year, and inflation possibly surging to 7% by the end of 2022, which is not likely to fall until early in 2023.