Price drop fuelling Christmas spending
SHOPPERS are hungrier than ever to snap up bargains in the lead-up to Christmas, and falling petrol prices have helped give them more cash to splash.
Retailers say the drop in fuel prices, generally good weather and a series of mass discounting days has provided the perfect run-up to Christmas for shoppers and stores alike.
Latest figures by the Australian Institute of Petroleum showed the national unleaded price has plummeted by 22.7 cents over the past four weeks – the national average this week was 138.7c a litre.
Commsec data said this would save motorists $69 per month and is the equivalent of a 25 basis point cut on a $450,000 mortgage.
Australian Retailers’ Association executive director Russell Zimmerman was hopeful of strong shopping spends in December.
“Consumers are looking for bargains, energy costs are up, but fuel costs have come down,” he said.
“But some food costs have gone up with the drought.
“People are still wanting to buy things for Christmas but they haven’t had quite the disposable income they have had in the past.”
Mr Zimmerman said a string of discounted shopping events in November including Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday had “morphed into each other” and helped get many retailers involved to bolster their sales.
“We are seeing good strong sales come through from Cyber Monday and Black Friday,” he said.
“These sales are certainly assisting retailers get dollars and cents through their tills.”
Recent ARA predictions estimate Australians will spend $51.4 billion nationally in the six weeks before Christmas – an increase of 2.9 per cent from last year. But this is below the 5 to 6 per cent annual increase retailers hope for. A separate survey by Deloittes found four out of five retailers are expecting 10 per cent growth in online sales.
And despite the presence of Amazon in Australia, 83 per cent say the online giant will have no impact on their Christmas trading. Australian retail magnate Gerry Harvey (left) said he expect- ed a “good Christmas but not a boomer Christmas”.
He said falling petrol prices would give shoppers a boost.
“If you feel good, you spend your money,” Mr Harvey said. “There’s also been a lot of pre-buying with sales like Black Friday but still most people haven’t bought and will be buying in December.
“We have a lot of specials, particularly in small appliances, audio and computers, and a huge range of things that will suit people buying Christmas presents.” Harvey Norman’s big focus would be on smaller appliances under $200.