It’s just seven weeks until Christmas, and no doubt you are already well and truly gearing up for what I hope will be a very prosperous time of the year. Yesterday, I released to the media the economic forecasts done by the NRA’s in-house research team, looking at the likely outcomes for the pre-Christmas sales period.
These figures are based on a range of other economic data, such as employment, investment, property prices and national accounts, well as recent movements in retail sales data. I’m pleased to report that our forecasters are projecting sound, if not spectacular, growth for this year.
Total national spending is expected to reach $44.5 billion for the period, which covers the final two weeks of November and all of December up to Christmas Eve. This represents growth of 4.1 per cent on the same period last year, close to the ten-year average of 4.2 per cent.
Every state and territory in Australia is tipped to experience an increase in spending on the same period last year. New South Wales consumers are set to spend around $14.2 billion – three per cent more than in 2014. Queenslanders will spend six per cent more than during the same period as last year at $9.0 billion, and West Australians six per cent more at $5.3 billion.
Victoria and the Northern Territory will enjoy the largest increases at eight per cent, as Victoria heads for a spend of around $11.6 billion, and the Northern Territory charges towards the $400 million mark for the first time. In South Australia, a six per cent increase on last year will translate to around $2.9 billion in spending, with Tasmania up five per cent, at $900 million. In the ACT, shoppers are on track to shell out $800 million (up three per cent).
You can read the full projections here, and you can see some of the media reporting of our forecasts here and here.
Don’t forget there are some tips on the NRA website on preparing for the Christmas season, recruiting for the holiday period, and how to use your increased customer activity to grow your loyalty program.
As we move closer to the big day, the NRA will receive a large volume of media requests for contacts in businesses willing to do television or newspaper interviews about Christmas trade. This is a terrific opportunity to promote your business and spruik new products. Please contact us if you are available to speak with media in pre-Christmas stories and we will add you to a register of possible businesses
Have a great week,
Trevor
P.S. Remember to have a read of the rest of this week’s Week In Review here.