Discount sales hit Xmas spending
DECEMBER’S retail spend was worse than predicted, with November’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales absorbing consumers’ cash and leaving less for the traditional Christmas trading period.
Seasonally adjusted retail spending was $27.01 billion for the month, down 0.4 per cent from $27.12 billion in November, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Economists had forecast a 0.2 per cent December slump due to Australia’s recent embrace of the discount sales seen in the US, which pushed November figures up by a revised 0.5 per cent.
Spending on household goods dropped 2.8 per cent and clothing and footwear fell 2.4 per cent after both enjoyed strong rises during the Black Friday promotions.
The decline in December was seen in all states apart from WA.
BIS Oxford Economics analyst Sarah Hunter said households were being forced to curb growth in spending as a result of weak income growth, and confidence appeared to have taken a battering from heightened volatility in financial markets and falling house prices.