Last-minute shoppers to hit a Xmas Eve record
South Australian traders are bracing for their busiest Christmas Eve since ‘well before the pandemic began’.
SA News
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South Australian traders are bracing for their busiest Christmas Eve since “well before the pandemic began”.
Shops are expected to be “bustling” as last-minute shoppers create a record surge, with Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday.
The Australian Retailers Association expects local spending during South Australia’s Christmas period to jump 6.6 per cent on last year, reaching a record $4.1bn.
ARA chief executive Paul Zara said there had been “an insatiable appetite for in-store shopping this year, driven by new-found freedoms post-pandemic”.
“We’re expecting shops to be bustling this Christmas Eve, particularly given that it’s falling on a Saturday,” Mr Zara said.
“It’s the perfect opportunity for shoppers to squeeze in their last-minute gift purchases.
“Most shoppers have turned their attention to the Christmas feast and spending big on food and alcohol, with gift cards being a popular choice for those hard-to-buy people.” Mr Zara asked shoppers to be patient as retailers “navigate the frenetic Christmas rush while juggling ongoing labour shortages”.
Rundle Mall management is expecting “hundreds of thousands” of shoppers to hit the city shopping strip today.
“We’re expecting this to be the busiest Christmas Eve in Rundle Mall since well before the pandemic began,” Andrew White, Adelaide Economic Development Agency executive manager for Rundle Mall, said.
“We’ve seen shoppers return to their pre-pandemic behaviour by … spending the day browsing stores. This week has been much busier for our traders than the same time last year, when the state was in the midst of the Omicron outbreak, and with Christmas Eve falling on a weekend, we expect even more people will be out making their last-minute purchases.”
Rundle Mall is open 9am-5pm, with supermarkets opening at 7am.
General manager – fresh at Drake’s, Tim Cartwright, said the supermarket was envisaging “one of the busiest days on record per hour”.
“It will be over 10 per cent up on last year, and 20 per cent up pre-Covid,” he said.
“For us, this will be a record year. When we look at those key items, we have dropped prices – we’re selling lobsters below cost, prawns below cost, cherries below cost, and people are just taking advantage of that.
“We will have fresh deliveries going into all our supermarkets before we open Saturday morning.” Coles general manager for fresh, Andy Mossop, said seafood, hams, cherries, puddings and pavlovas were the most popular items in the two days leading up to Christmas Day.
“Customers buy over 70 per cent more seafood in December compared to any other month,” he said.
Adelaide Central Market will be open 7am-3pm, with traders expecting a “huge day”.
“After a few years of restrictions, we are thrilled to welcome the return of large-scale celebrations and family get-togethers this holiday season,” general manager Jodie Kannane said.
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