DECEMBER’S PROFITS HIT BY EARLY BIRDS SPREE

THIS week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics Queensland retail trade figures have confirmed a 0.5 per cent drop in retail turnover for December 2019. In comparison, increases of 0.9 per cent were recorded in November.

National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb said the wide shifts in turnover between the two months demonstrated increasing numbers of Australian consumers were now doing Christmas shopping in late November rather than December.

“The shopping behaviour of Australian consumers is always changing, and this is best exemplified by the clear shift we’ve seen when it comes to making Christmas purchases,” Ms Lamb said.

“For November 2019 we saw turnover increase by an incredibly large 0.9 per cent, however, the December figures show a sizeable drop of 0.5 per cent.

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become increasingly popular, with shoppers making inroads into Christmas shopping by cashing in on these November bargain sales events.

“The important takeout for retailers is to be aware of this shift and understand it is likely to only become more pronounced in future years. Businesses should look to tailor their Christmas strategies to the last weekend of November which is bookended by Black Friday and Cyber Monday.”

In positive news, there was a rise of 0.5 per cent for the December quarter in retail sales, which contrasts favourably to the 0.1 per cent fall for the September quarter. “The results for the December quarter were quite encouraging, with a betterthan-expected rise of 0.5 per cent in retail sales. This further highlights the need to assess the Christmas shopping period as a whole and not simply December in isolation,” Ms Lamb said.