Boxing Day sales attract thousands, with spending set to hit record 1.3 billion dollars

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Thousands of people are braving the crowds this morning at the Boxing Day sales, with spending expected to hit a record 1.3 billion dollars. Reporter Mikaela Ortolan has the details from Melbourne.

Transcript

00:00Well, Australians are expected to spend a record $1.3 billion this Boxing Day.

00:08That's an increase of about 1.8% compared to last year.

00:12Now, it is quite surprising given we are experiencing a cost of living crisis at the moment, but

00:17the Australian Retailers Association says that this rise in spending is partly a result

00:23of that cost of living crisis.

00:25We're seeing a lot of people doing their research and waiting for sales like Boxing

00:30Day before they head down to the shops and actually spend money.

00:34Population growth is also another reason why people are spending more money.

00:37There's simply more people at the shops.

00:39Inflation is contributing as well.

00:42It's costing us a lot more money for certain items.

00:45And then you've got other things like the supply chain costs, which naturally are increasing

00:52and consumers are the ones that have to absorb those costs.

00:55So the categories where people are spending the most money, top of the list is household

01:00goods, which we're expected to spend about $378 million there.

01:05Second on the list is food, where we're expected to spend $296 million.

01:11Now that's followed by clothing, footwear and accessories, so people looking to buy

01:15themselves a little something this Boxing Day.

01:18And we've also got department stores, other retailing and hospitality on the list as well.

01:23Now we did hear a little bit from the National Retail Association earlier today.

01:28Here's what they had to say.

01:29These big sales events present a great opportunity for savvy buyers to get great discounts.

01:36And so we saw that at the Black Friday sales, we'll definitely see it today and across the

01:41next couple of days for Boxing Day sales.

01:44And it gives families a great opportunity to stock up on essentials and get prepared

01:48for the year ahead.

01:50And for those with school aged children, there are great, great discounts available on offer

01:55for back to school.

01:57So these big spending that we're expected to see is going to last well into the new

02:02year.

02:03So from the 26th, which is today, until the 15th of January, Australians are forecast

02:07to spend $24.7 billion and again, that is an increase on what we saw for the same time

02:14period the year before.

02:16There's no surprise that New South Wales and Victoria are the most, the top spending states

02:21across the country.

02:22New South Wales is coming in at number one, spending $1.1 billion.

02:26Victoria is following closely behind.

02:30Now there is a message for people who are out shopping today to be cautious of dodgy

02:35deals.

02:36Just because something says that it is on sale doesn't necessarily mean it's the best

02:40deal that you can find.

02:41So as many, many people go down to the shops to try to find that bargain, just make sure

02:46you're doing your research well and truly in advance.

02:48All right, Michaela, there might be some good deals, so I'm curious, will you yourself be

02:52doing any shopping today?

02:55Probably not.

02:56This is as close as I really want to get to the shops on a day like today, but we will

02:59definitely be going into the shops a little later today, having a chat to people who are

03:03there and also finding out what items are those number one items on the list where people

03:08are trying to find those bargains.

03:09Yeah, I totally get you and wanting to avoid the crowds.

03:11Michaela, thanks a lot for your update.

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