Xinhua, Sydney :
While Christmas is a time for family and good will, it is also the most vital part of the year for Australia’s retail sector.
For businesses doing well, the end-of-year surge in sales from last-minute shoppers allows companies to finish on a high and bask in their extra revenue.
But for other retailers who are not doing so good, the Christmas holiday rush will be the last chance of the year to salvage a profit and keep their head above water.
MOST MAGICAL TIME OF YEAR
While retailers in general have seen steady growth in 2018, it has not been a particularly strong year for sales.
In the years following the global financial crisis in 2008, Australia’s retail spending was averaging around 3 percent growth per annum. Prior to 2008, the figures were up over 4 percent. But according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ third quarter data, retail spending over the year to September in 2018 has only ticked up a modest 2.4 percent. “Household income has been a little bit subdued recently and that ties back to weak wage growth, and that is what’s hurting retailers,” BIS Oxford Economics senior economist Sean Langcake told Xinhua on Friday.
“We can also see that inflation in turn has been a little bit weak and we can read that as being softer demand on the part of consumers as well as retailers not being able to put their prices up.”
But while consumers have been dragging their heels when it comes to spending in 2018, the retail sector are still predicting that after inflation, Christmas holiday purchases will be up around 2.5 percent on last year, equating to a total spending from the back half of November through December, of approximately 50 billion Australian dollars (35.5 billion U.S. dollars), according to the National Retail Association.
For some sellers, particularly those who trade in electronic goods, books and some areas of clothing, December is likely to hold a substantial proportion of their company’s overall yearly income.
While Christmas is a time for family and good will, it is also the most vital part of the year for Australia’s retail sector.
For businesses doing well, the end-of-year surge in sales from last-minute shoppers allows companies to finish on a high and bask in their extra revenue.
But for other retailers who are not doing so good, the Christmas holiday rush will be the last chance of the year to salvage a profit and keep their head above water.
MOST MAGICAL TIME OF YEAR
While retailers in general have seen steady growth in 2018, it has not been a particularly strong year for sales.
In the years following the global financial crisis in 2008, Australia’s retail spending was averaging around 3 percent growth per annum. Prior to 2008, the figures were up over 4 percent. But according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ third quarter data, retail spending over the year to September in 2018 has only ticked up a modest 2.4 percent. “Household income has been a little bit subdued recently and that ties back to weak wage growth, and that is what’s hurting retailers,” BIS Oxford Economics senior economist Sean Langcake told Xinhua on Friday.
“We can also see that inflation in turn has been a little bit weak and we can read that as being softer demand on the part of consumers as well as retailers not being able to put their prices up.”
But while consumers have been dragging their heels when it comes to spending in 2018, the retail sector are still predicting that after inflation, Christmas holiday purchases will be up around 2.5 percent on last year, equating to a total spending from the back half of November through December, of approximately 50 billion Australian dollars (35.5 billion U.S. dollars), according to the National Retail Association.
For some sellers, particularly those who trade in electronic goods, books and some areas of clothing, December is likely to hold a substantial proportion of their company’s overall yearly income.
