Retailers Expect to Generate More Than $1-B Sales from Boxing Day Sales
Retailers are jostling to get a prime piece of the projected $1.1 billion gross that the Boxing Day is expected to generate on Monday, a fraction of the more than $14 billion that Australian consumers are set to unleash in the days ahead.
Apart from the hefty discounts offered by retail stores, celebrities have been hired to spice up the shopping experience of the day, luring long queues and camp outs among would-be shoppers who want to crash the door first to avail of special offers and cash vouchers waiting dangled by retailers.
Major names like David Jones and Myers reconfigured the sales cuts they implemented earlier in the Christmas season, offering steeper mark downs for shoppers visiting the stores or those opting to click through their shopping splurge.
Such efforts reflect retailers' efforts to reverse the generally dismal scenario that pervade the sector even amidst the ramped up holiday shopping activities of consumers, media reports said.
David Jones officials have admitted that the industry has so far seen its lowest earning records in decades but remain upbeat that some sort of recovery will be afforded in the days ahead, starting with the expected Boxing Day rush.
David Jones store manager Jason McVicar told the Daily Telegraph that he is optimistic that consumers looking for designer brands would increase the company's total sales figures this year, however belatedly.
"People will head in early for designer handbags and fashion, and commodity goods like business shirts and towels later in the day," McVicar said.
"We have seen a strengthening trend in recent weeks and are cautiously optimistic it will flow through to Boxing Day sales," the David Jones official added.
On its part, Myers predicted that close to two million shoppers will visit Myer stores nationwide, mostly attracted by the price cuts imposed on numerous items.
"Consumers are very value and price-focused at this time of the year and they know the stock-take sale is the time of the year to get a great bargain," a Myer representative was quoted by the Telegraph as saying in a statement.
Some 42 percent of retailers have agreed to implement discounts on existing stocks for the December to January sales rush, according to Australian Retailers Association (ARA) executive director Russell Zimmerman.
By adopting the tactic, the retailers' gains are two ways, Zimmerman said, in which whey increase their sales numbers while moving out stocks as well.
He added those retailers are responding to the altering mood and behaviour seen from Australian consumers.
"We're back to the days of huge post-Christmas sales. Some years ago people lined up for sales looking for bargains and there was a real excitement about it," the ARA chief said.