How Aussies Will Shop This Festive Season 2023

It’s here and it’s fresher than gingerbread straight out of the oven: exclusive insights from more than 1500 Australian shoppers about how they plan to spend this festive season.

Filled with ideas, information and inspiration, Afterpay’s 2023 Festive Forecast* aims to help you have your merriest holiday season yet. Here’s a sneak peek. 

Shoppers are cutting back. But the festive season looks strong.

Yes, inflation is impacting holiday spending, with 46% of shoppers cutting back on general purchases. However, 19% of shoppers still plan to spend more, and others are finding ways to get around cost-of-living pressures, by looking for deals, buying presents earlier and utilising Buy-now-pay-later services like Afterpay. 

Tree-mendous tip: Make sure to let your customers know that you offer Afterpay, both online and in-store.

Christmas is coming early

It pays to start strategising for the silly season now, as two-thirds of shoppers will have finished their holiday shopping by the end of November.

Gen Z will be leading the charge to the checkout, with younger shoppers much more likely to get their festive shopping done 

Tree-mendous tip: Different demographics will shop at different times. When planning your BFCM marketing, for example, your primary audience should be Gen Z.

What will sell this silly season

Gift cards are working overtime this Christmas, topping the shopping lists of many consumers, followed by clothing and accessories. 

But it’s worth remembering that nearly half of all shoppers (47%) wait until they’re in-store for inspiration to strike. So it’s important that your store entices shoppers in and then offers appealing visual merchandising and curated collections. 

And if you really want to get shoppers’ attention? Half of all Aussies say that noticing that an item is on sale will persuade them to purchase. 

Tree-mendous tip: Do you offer gift vouchers? Now is the time to set them up if not. 

Want to more festive tips? Download our complete Festive Forecast and head over to our Festive Strategy hub now. 

*Source: All data has been taken from Afterpay Festive Forecast research 2023 Australia.