Australians on Tight Budget, Will Still Splurge for Christmas
Good news ahead for Australian business retailers. Despite the hard, cash-strapped times, Australians are still bound to splurge on the festive season, and would be willing to dish out at least $475 from their pockets on presents alone.
Overall, Australians will spend about $16.2 billion for the festive season of 2012, where 70 per cent said they will spend on buying stuff at conventional bricks and mortar stores, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing figures from a survey done by the Commonwealth Bank.
Many after all still wanted to see the actual merchandize before buying it to gift to family, friends or colleagues. Only 30 per cent out of 1,000 respondents said they would search online for gifts.
"We know that the unpredictable nature of the current economic climate means many businesses are still adverse to taking unnecessary risk, but our research shows that many businesses should be actively looking to take advantage of the millions of Aussies who plan to open their wallets this Christmas," Adam Bennett, Commonwealth Bank executive general manager of local Business Banking, said.
Those surveyed likewise shared they planned to allot $3.7 billion for holiday-related vacations as well as $1.6 billion on entertaining friends and family alone.
Australians will also dish out $554 million to replenish stocks inside the house, such as piling up extra food and drinks, while $359 million will be allotted to purchase supplies for outside of the home.
Sales from Boxing Day on December 26 is expected to hit $2.2 billion worth of spending, the survey showed.