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Dodging the crowds, What are Australia's busiest Christmas shopping days?
Australians are planning to spend around $11 billion this Christmas, with new research from the Commonwealth Bank putting each person’s average spend at around $593.
While the busiest shopping days of the season traditionally fall on the last weekend before Christmas, with the holiday falling on a Monday this year, according to the Commonwealth Bank Christmas Consumer Spending 2017 Study, the busiest shopping period will be 15 to 17 December, when 8.5 million Aussies are planning to do their holiday shopping. 6 million of these people are planning to do their shopping on Saturday 16 December. The second busiest shopping period is expected to be the weekend of 9 and 10 December.
With 43% of surveyed Aussie shoppers having not set a budget this Christmas, CBA executive general manager, Clive van Horen, said that Aussies will likely overspend by $625 million this year:
“Christmas isn’t only an expensive time because of gift buying. It’s also a time of year where we entertain and go out more and spend a little extra on our homes so it’s really important we set a budget and keep track of how much we are spending and where that money is going.”
The number of people planning to do some shopping online this year is up 1.1 million to 13.3 million and has increased across all demographics. Gen Y is expected to do the most online shopping (86%), and are also the most likely to browse in-store, then go online for a bargain (44%) Gen Z takes the opposite strategy, with 62% doing their research online then buying in-store.
Looking state by state, Aussies in South Australia and the Northern Territory spend the most on Christmas presents, while Queenslanders spend the least. Victorians and Tasmanians spend the most on family members and friends while those from South Australia and the Northern Territory are the most generous towards their work mates. Queenslanders spend the least on family, friends and workmates.
| State | Population | Xmas gifts – Average spend | Xmas gifts – Total spend | Joint presents average spend – Family | Joint presents average spend – Friends | Joint presents average spend – Workmates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW/ACT | 6,316,000 | $608 | $3.8 billion | $136 | $44 | $16 |
| VIC/TAS | 5,145,000 | $621 | $3.2 billion | $157 | $46 | $20 |
| QLD | 3,707,000 | $508 | $1.9 billion | $95 | $22 | $7 |
| SA/NT | 1,529,000 | $671 | $1.0 billion | $155 | $29 | $25 |
| WA | 2,019,000 | $577 | $1.2 billion | $139 | $34 | $12 |
| Total | 18,716,000 | $593 | $11.1 billion | $136 | $38 | $16 |
Disclaimer
This article is over two years old, last updated on December 4, 2017. While RateCity makes best efforts to update every important article regularly, the information in this piece may not be as relevant as it once was. Alternatively, please consider checking recent bank accounts articles.
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