It’s Christmas time and the shoppers have already made the record. The Christmas spending spree hit its record high in recent times as the shoppers worldwide turned out in large numbers for the last minute shopping.
“As of December 10, the average holiday shopper has completed 53 percent of their shopping — up three percentage points from last year,” according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) report.
The market analysts at the NRF said that even if a large number of shoppers have already completed their Christmas shopping a week before, but the retailers worldwide are still hopeful of a big turnout of shoppers for their last minute shopping.
The American consumers have largely disappointed the offline retailers as they have spent more on online rivals.
The trade body NRF has made a forecast of 4.1 percent increase in the holiday sales in 2014, which will include both online and retail stores. The retailers are expecting a huge turnout of shoppers and handsome expenses by them this Christmas. The retailers are more confident especially due to the positive government outlook about the US economy, its labor market and improving consumer sentiments among Americans in the recent weeks.
According to an official data, the Australians have emerged as winners by spending in record numbers up to Christmas. The shopping enthusiasts in Australia have spent in an average of USD 2,500 each for the last six weeks, the data showed. As per the figures released by the Australian Retailers Association, the shoppers have spent up to USD 45 billion for Christmas shopping. This is a bit increase in amount spent from last year.