Revenge spending to drive post-lockdown Christmas boom

Victorians will hit the shops in record numbers this festive season, Latitude Group chief executive Ahmed Fahour predicts. This is why.

Ahmed Fahour predicts shoppers will hit major centres such as Chadstone and spend big this Christmas. Picture: Andrew Tauber

Victorians will hit the shops in record numbers this Christmas as pent up “revenge spending” drives a retail boom, Latitude chief Ahmed Fahour has predicted.

“Sydney has gone nuts and come this Saturday you won’t be able to move in Melbourne,” Mr Fahour said.

“Australians and Melburnians are sick and tired of getting locked up.

“They want to get on with life.

“Travel, services, shopping and family are all coming back and its coming back starting this Saturday.”

Demand for Latitude products, which include loans and a buy now, pay later service, surged by more than 40 per cent in the week following the end of Melbourne’s mega lockdown last year.

Fahour says Victorians are also keen to travel post lockdown.

Mr Fahour tipped similarly strong demand with a survey of Latitude’s customers finding 8 out of 10 Melburnians were planning to hit the shops when instore retail was permitted.

Four out of five Aussies are planning a major holiday in the next 12 months, the survey found.

“These are staggering numbers,” Mr Fahour said.

“It’s going to be a bumper Christmas and people are desperate to get out of their homes and travel.”

The former Australia Post chief said while the pandemic had clearly hurt segments of the economy, many households were cashed up following interest rate cuts and unprecedented government stimulus.

“There was $320b injected into the national economy via Covid responses and that sits in business and household bank accounts,” he said.

Mr Fahour said he was upbeat about the long-term prospects of the nation’s post-Covid economy with a mini baby boom, the return of migration and movement to the regions all driving activity.

“We can see a major structural upswing about to start,” he said.

The Australian Retailers Association has also tipped a bumper Christmas spend with the nation set to shell out $58.8b over the festive season, on par with last year but more than 11 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.