The gifts Aussies are searching for this Christmas - and you won’t believe what’s on the list

At the end of a difficult year for most Australian households, with rising costs across the board from petrol to milk, interest rate rises in February, March, May, June and November, soaring rents and uninspiring wage growth, Christmas spending is not expected to be exuberant. So far Australians are seeking out less expensive brands that say quality to those who receive their gifts.

The top eight brands searched online this week are:

• Pandora
• Country Road
• Frank Green
• Mimco
• T2
• Glasshouse
• Surfstitch
• Lovisa

In October, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) in conjunction with Roy Morgan, predicted Australians would spend $66.8 billion between November and Christmas Eve. This is only 0.1 per cent more than last year, despite big rises in the prices in both goods and services Australia-wide. In fact, food spending was tipped to make up the biggest piece of spending, $26.7 billion of the overall spend, mostly due to price increases.

Those who didn't get a large chunk of their Christmas shopping done during the Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales period seem to either have no FOMO or belong to that rarefied set of Australians without money worries on their mind. More than 40% of retailers this year began their Black Friday promotions at least one to two weeks early, with some continuing into December, and overall sales increases of 10-25% were reported. The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) had predicted in early November that Australian shoppers would spend $6.36bn across the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 3% from last year.

Tate Zanner, founder of marketing agency Insil, said that ultra-luxury brands are likely to be those most disappointed by their sales this year. He has been analysing Google Trends data to find out what people are most searching for online.

"Pandora exemplifies the trend of searching for middle-level brands that promise quality. Because its jewellery is modular, gifts can range in size - and cost - from very small to substantial. Middle-market fashion brand and an Australian stalwart, Country Road, has had a renaissance in the last two years. Woolworths Holdings Limited (South Africa) reported double-digit growth (25.5% and by 26.6%) for Country Road Group for the first half of FY23. Surfstitch famously began in a humble garage and has become one of Australia's most innovative e-commerce brands so far, achieving the difficult task of maintaining a top trend position in the hugely competitive fashion middle-market." Tate says.

Household spending has grown by 4.8 per cent through the year to August, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show, but ongoing high inflation and higher interest rates have forced shoppers to focus on essentials over discretionary goods.

South Australia and ACT are set to record the biggest growth in sales on last year (up 1.2%), followed by Tasmania (up 0.7%), Western Australia (up 0.5%), Northern Territory (up 0.3%) and Victoria (up 0.2%).

Spending in Queensland (down 0.3%) and New South Wales (down 0.2%) is tipped to decline. Consumers in New South Wales are forecast to spend $21.1 billion in the Christmas period, with Victorians to spend $17.1 billion.

Retailers say online sales on Black Friday were 10-25% up on last year, with the shopping event becoming bigger than Boxing Day.

Editor's Note:

Interview opportunities are available with Digital Marketing expert, Tate Zanner