While many independent retailers opted out of Black Friday last year, sales were still strong in November according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade report.
The increase in turnover of 0.4 per cent (seasonally adjusted) means that the sales for the Christmas trade period are expected to align with NRA forecast of a more than $50 billion spend.
Products for the home as well as personal accessories performed very well, says National Retail Association (NRA) deputy CEO, Lindsay Carroll.
“Household goods, along with clothing, footwear and personal accessories recorded the biggest increases and this can be attributed in large part to the Black Friday sales,” she says.
“November is a busy month for retail with events such as Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as well as the start of the Christmas trade period midway through the month.
“While retail has certainly had busier years than 2018, the November figures bode well for Christmas sales and we anticipate even stronger figures for the month of December.”
Online retail turnover also saw a large increase in sales with a turnover of 6.6 per cent, an increase of 5.9 per cent on the October results.
“Although online sales are increasing at a steady rate, we certainly don’t think it the end of bricks and mortar retail. Online turnover still only accounts for less than 9 per cent of total retail sales and many retailers offer an online channel that complements their physical store,” she says.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) executive director, Russell Zimmerman, adds that sales events in the month of November certainly contributed to a steady lead-in to the festive season, particularly for department stores and online retailing.
“Based on what we have seen and heard from retailers and our members, we believe the overall Christmas trade will indicate secure growth, with many large retailers noticing growth in-store,” he says.
“The ARA will continue to partner with Roy Morgan to deliver the only professionally researched industry Christmas predictions in Australia, and we believe the figures released today represent an accurate preview of sales in the lead-up to the festive season.”
