More Australians are opting for online shopping and hitting up the direct factory outlets to make the most of 2023’s Boxing Day sales as cost of living continues to soar.
Retailers predict shoppers will spend $1.25 billion on Tuesday and at least $24 billion over the post-Christmas period.
However, the atmosphere in popular shopping strips including Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall and Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall appeared slightly quieter than usual.
Eagle-eyed shoppers instead took themselves to factory outlets like Sydney’s Birkenhead Point and South Wharf in Melbourne where most items are already heavily discounted.
Videos posted to social media showed hundreds of bargain-hunters queuing to enter the DFOs before stores opened on Tuesday morning.
The line for the Nike store at Birkenhead Point extended right through the complex with shoppers forced to wait outside on the pavement if they wanted to keep their spot.
Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said Australians were not only looking for cheap prices but were purchasing with future needs in mind and steering clear of impulse buys.
“What we saw on Black Friday is people looking to bring those purchases forward to actually save money and it is as simple as that,” he said.
“We saw the same thing today. They’ve been very organised, they are making a list.
“They are actually forecasting the needs of their household ahead of when they need them so they can really take advantage of the sales.”
Sydneysiders on Tuesday told Sky News Australia they were not planning to spend much of their hard-earned cash, with most budgets for Boxing Day trending towards $100 to $200.
“Not planning to spend that much, it is mainly just things I have already sort of identified that I need and now they are on sale,” said one shopper.
“I’m just having a look around, I don’t know. The sales aren’t that good,” said another.
Other Australians said they would be ditching the sales altogether with many families still reeling from the expensive Christmas period.
“So bloody exciting for boxing day shopping … and by shopping I mean driving through rich neighbourhoods hoping there’s good stuff left on the curb,” one user posted to X.
“Boxing Day sales at the shopping centre. Not quite as crazy as I’d been anticipating. Cost of living and inflation biting hard,” wrote another.
The Motley Fool’s Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips said the bump in spending could even impact inflation.
“Perhaps the best sign is that at least with prices lower, year on year prices may actually fall.
“But there is still plenty of money being spent in the economy.”
Boxing Day sales for many businesses are expected to continue until New Year Eve.
(SKY NEWS)
