Visa Analysis: Australia Rings in Holiday Retail Spending Growth

12/23/2024

  • Total retail spending across Australia increased by 7.4%, while spending in Electronics and Apparel increased by 13% compared to 2023
  • Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to shape retail spending in November, with retail spend across the four days increasing by nearly 10% year on year
  • New South Wales and Victoria continue to spend the lion’s share, but Queensland and Western Australia show the highest growth at 8.8% and 9.8% respectively

 

Visa, a world leader in digital payments, has announced the findings from its first Retail Spend Monitor from Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA) which found that the total retail spending1 had increased by 7.4% year on year. ​​This reflects the total retail sales activity for the seven-week period starting on November 1.

Aussies can expect a new wardrobe under the Christmas tree as Clothing and Apparel spend for November and December increased by 14.6% compared to last year. The total number of transactions has also increased by 10.6%.

Total spend in electronics increased by 10.4% year on year. While the majority of these purchases are made online, the data suggests consumers prefer to shop in person for high-value items; the average Electronics basket size made in-store is 36% higher than online purchases. This reinforces the continuing importance of physical stores despite online transactions making up 37% of total retail spend.

David Peacock, Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics for Visa Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, said: “Despite cost-of-living pressures that many families across Australia continue to experience, there has been a significant increase in the growth of retail spend in Australia. 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.”

Meanwhile, Black Friday continues to solidify itself as a significant sales period, with spending in the Black Friday weekend increasing by 9.8%. The data also highlights the extent to which merchants are starting their Black Friday campaigns early; spending in the week prior to Black Friday increased by 11.3% suggesting shoppers are taking early advantage of Black Friday sales.

While close to 60% of Black Friday sales continue to be in store, online sales surged by 14%. However, the average basket size for Black Friday transactions remained flat – suggesting that consumers are possibly engaging with multiple merchants to get the best possible bargains.

Peacock stated: “Black Friday sales are increasingly having a material impact on how Australians shop for Christmas by offering incentives for them to purchase gifts earlier than they had in previous years.”


Statewide Snapshot

While New South Wales and Victoria continue to account for more than 55% of retail sales, Queensland and Western Australia had one of the highest growth rates year-on-year, growing by 8.8% and 9.8% respectively. The total value of online transactions made during this time period also increased by 13.7% and 16.3%.

Highlights:

  • NSW:
    • NSW features the highest spending across Australia, making up 31.6% of national retail spending
  • QLD:
    • Queensland’s retail spending growth was the 2nd highest in Australia, sitting at 9.8%
  • VIC:
    • Victoria saw the nation’s sharpest increase for in-person shopping at 8.5%, compared to the national average of 7.2%
    • Growth across online and offline channels appear relatively even, with online purchases growing by 9.4%
  • Western Australia:
    • Western Australia’s retail spending grew the highest across the country, increasing by 11% compared to the previous year
    • Online transactions grew twice the rate of physical ones, suggesting that consumers are increasingly engaging with online sales
  • ACT:
    • The ACT featured the smallest increase in physical retail spending at 2.3%. However, sales processed online grew by 9.8% which suggest limited store options


Secure shopping habits to keep the holidays cheerful

Fraudsters increasingly use advanced technologies to target consumers and in the holiday season and with spending increasing, customers need to be extra vigilant. Top tips include:

  1. Sign up for email and SMS ‘transaction alerts’ from your bank to keep track of your purchases
  2. Review receipts before you sign and use secure payment methods
  3. Be aware of your surrounds and guard your PIN from fraudster ‘shoulder surfing’
  4. Report missing cards immediately and monitor your monthly statements

"At Christmas, many people look for the best deals and often shop at stores they don't usually visit. This makes it important to transact in a safe and secure way. Visa continues to invest billions of dollars into keeping transactions safe and secure for people and businesses, but everyone can play a part in stopping scammers. As technology is getting more sophisticated, so too are the scams and we urge Australians to be extra alert this holiday season,” concluded Peacock.

For more information, please visit: https://www.visa.com.au/pay-with-visa/security/fraud-prevention-tips.html

 

1 Total Retail Spend includes the following categories: Clothing and Apparel, Electronics, Food & Grocery, Home Improvement & Supply, and Household Goods.

 

About the VCA Retail Spend Monitor

The VCA Retail Spend Monitor reports on national retail sales across all payment types (including cash). This is constructed using a subset of depersonalised transactional data pulled from Visa’s payments network, which is then normalised and scaled to market using third-party public sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The views, opinions, and/or estimates, as the case may be (“views”), expressed herein are those of the Visa Consulting & Analytics team and do not necessarily reflect those of Visa executive management and other Visa employees and affiliates. The VCA Retail Spend Monitor is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for operational, marketing, legal, technical, tax, financial, or other advice and do not in any way reflect actual or forecasted Visa operational or financial performance. Visa neither makes any warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the views contained herein, nor assumes any liability or responsibility that may result from reliance on such views. These views are often based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice.


About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.