November trade figures have reported year-on-year growth of 3.27 per cent seasonally adjusted, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Australian Retailers Association (ARA) executive director Russell Zimmerman said this growth is a positive sign for the industry as retailers remain hopeful that the ARA and Roy Morgan predicted pre-Christmas sales figure of $48.1 billion over the Christmas trading period (15 November to 24 December, 2016) will be achieved.
“We won’t be able to confirm the actual pre-Christmas spend until December retail figures are released next month. However, after speaking with retailers across the country, many reported a strong start to Christmas sales in November due to many consumers getting on top of their holiday shopping early.”
Despite the closure of a number of Masters stores across Australia, other hardware retailers, particularly Bunnings, lead the charge for another exceptional growth in hardware at 10.15 per cent year-on-year.
New South Wales proves to be the strongest of the states with a 4.25 per cent growth year-on-year, while all other states remain steady (VIC 3.45%, QLD 3.67%, TAS 3.72%, SA 2.82%, ACT 6.44%). As expected, the mining jurisdictions, WA (-0.57%) and NT (0.31%), reflected a weakness in sales due to the downturn in resources in these regions.
“Though these figures don’t necessarily reflect Christmas sales, they generally provide a strong indication as to what we can expect for retail sales over the festive season. I am confident December figures will prove to be strong as many consumers, including myself, usually leave their Christmas shopping until the last minute,” Zimmerman said.
This story originally appeared on Appliance Retailer.
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