The National Retail Association (NRA) is positive about the Christmas trade period, saying the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show the retail industry is on track for record sales.
ABS figures for October 2016 show retail turnover rose by 0.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted, which follows a rise of 0.6 per cent in September
NRA chief executive, Dominique Lamb, said retailers across the country should feel heartened by the figures, as they demonstrate that retailers are set to experience a very merry Christmas this year.
“The NRA has projected consumers to spend over $1 billion a day during the Christmas trade period, which encompasses the final two weeks of November and all of December,” she said. “The October figures show that the industry is well and truly on track to smash the record spend.”
According to the ABS, each state and territory enjoyed a rise in retail sales in trend terms for October 2016.
The strongest gains were in Queensland (0.7 per cent), the ACT (0.6 per cent) and Victoria (0.5 per cent.
“Queensland recorded the strongest rise of all the states in trend terms and the NRA is predicting the sunshine state to perform strongly in December following extended trading hours for south-east Queensland that kicked into effect on December 1.”
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