Christmas won’t come for some

BRICKS and mortar retailers may have to brace for a little less Christmas cheer this year.

Business consultancy IbisWorld says the all-important Christmas shopping season will again be dominated by heavy discounting, bargain hunters and fierce competition from online retailers, who continue to win market share.

“Festive shopping is expected to remain subdued,” IbisWorld industry analyst Kim Do said.

“Trading conditions are forecast to remain challenging across the range of bricks-andmortar retailing and service industries commonly found in Australian shopping centres.”

The Christmas period can make or break a retailer, with about 11 per cent of all spending occurring in December.

Ms Do said retail revenue was forecast to rise by a slim 1.9 per cent over the year to this December.

Numbers released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week showed retailers suffered their biggest two-month sales fall in seven years during July and August.

Turnover fell 0.6 per cent in August – well off the 0.3 per cent gain economists had been predicting.

Ms Do said frugal consumers and online shopping were also reducing the number of people visiting shopping centres.

Foot traffic at centres across Australia was 4.3 per cent lower in August compared with the same period a year earlier, ShopperTrak said.