Shopping towards this year's Christmas countdown has proven to be beneficial, as economy-wide spending spiked in November by as much as 2.2 per cent.

According to the Commonwealth Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI), the latest spending improvement was Australia's fourth straight gain, although it was a point lower versus October. Spending jumped 0.3 per cent in November, compared with October's 0.4 per cent.

"Although we have experienced spending volatility over the past six months, the latest results provide businesses with some much-needed good news in the lead up to Christmas," Adam Bennett, CBA executive general manager, local business banking, said.

"Coming off the back of a tough year for many sectors, it is important that businesses across the country are prepared to make the most of consumer spending over the coming weeks."

The Commonwealth BSI, achieved by following the value of credit and debit card transactions processed through Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities, covers spending across the economy, including retail sales, automobiles, personal services and airlines.

While encouraging, the November results however does not say much of the overall spending sentiment of Australians as they remained conservative in their spending habits.

"While we have seen a lift in spending we know consumers are still, on a whole, adopting conservative habits,"Savanth Sebastian, CommSec economist, said.

"Hopefully this uptick in spending, coupled with positive economic news such as the recent interest rate cut and favourable jobs data, will help drive consistent spending patterns into the new year."