Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today has revealed November’s retail trade rose by 1.4 per cent, with the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period spurring a spending frenzy on discretionary items.
Peak industry body the National Retail Association interim CEO Lindsay Carroll said the monthly result is reflective of consumers satisfying their spending cravings through the sales event.
“Consumers have been constrained by increasing costs to everything from their groceries to power bills, and this year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday presented the perfect opportunity to take advantage of great deals and discounts.
“It also shows the interest of consumers to bring their Christmas shopping forward to November.”
The increase in turnover has been driven by ongoing price increases impacting day to day spending, and the sales events boosted non-discretionary spending in clothing, furniture and electronics.
“Contrary to previous months, clothing, footwear and accessories saw the greatest rise of 6.4 per cent, followed by department stores at 5.4 per cent and household goods rising by 2.1 per cent.
“Food retailing and food services, which had held one of the strongest spend increases across the retail industries, the saw the smallest growth of just 0.1 per cent.”
Ms Carroll said the results demonstrate how beneficial retail sales events are for the Australian economy.
“Sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming more common across Aussie retailers and the sales periods themselves are becoming longer.
“Last year household budgets felt the pinch of inflation, interest rates and energy costs, and many consumers were hesitant to spend, but the sales events offered them the opportunity to splurge on gifts and experiences.
“However with the RBA having increased interest rates by 300 basis points in 2022, household budgets will become more constrained to start this year, putting further downward pressure on spending.”
The National Retail Association is the voice of modern retail, representing more than 60,000 stores across Australia. It has been serving businesses in the retail and fast-food sectors for close to 100 years.
Lindsay Carroll is available for interview, contact the NRA media unit on 0467 792 013.