With the results in from Visa’s first Retail Spend Monitor, it’s evident many Australians are still enjoying retail therapy with total retail spending increasing by 7.4% year on year and total number of transactions increasing by 10.6%. With the reporting period analysing transactions from 1 November to 20 December 2024, it captures the all-important Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas periods.

“Despite cost-of-living pressures, there has been a significant increase in the growth of retail spend in Australia,” Visa Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific’s head of Visa consulting & analytics, David Peacock said. “Expectations of a peak in interest rates, combined with wage growth starting to exceed inflation and resilient employment appear to contribute to higher than expected spend.”

Clothing and apparel shopping is still popular with spend increasing by 14.6% compared to the previous year. Likewise, electronics spend has increased by 10.4% and while most purchases were made online, consumers preferred to shop in person for higher value items.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to shape retail spending in November, with retail spend across the four-day Black Friday weekend increasing by 9.8%. The data also highlights how merchants are starting their Black Friday campaigns early with spending in the week prior to Black Friday increasing by 11.3% as shoppers take early advantage of the sales.

“Black Friday sales are influencing how Australians shop for Christmas with incentives encouraging them to purchase gifts earlier than previous years,” Peacock added.

Taking a state-wide snapshot, New South Wales and Victoria continue to account for the highest number of retail sales with more than 55% of national retail spending. New South Wales recorded the highest spending across the country with 31%.

Meanwhile Queensland and Western Australia had one of the highest growth rates year-on-year, growing by 8.8% and 9.8% respectively. Online transactions in Western Australia grew at twice the rate compared with physical, suggesting consumers are increasingly engaging with online sales.