A record-breaking $2.49 billion is expected to be splurged in the Boxing Day sales as Australian retailers rake in $50 billion in a bumper Christmas season.

December 24, 2018

Australian shoppers are set to splurge a record $2.49 billion at the Boxing Day sales.

It will be the biggest single spending day of a Christmas season that already has retailers raking in a record-breaking $50 billion in sales since mid-November, the National Retail Association says.

“This is the largest Christmas we’ve seen in some time, which is great news for retailers, especially with those figures being quite flat across the year,” chief executive Dominique Lamb told reporters in Brisbane on Monday.

Ms Lamb says with so many bargains available, shoppers should do their homework on which retailers are offering the hottest deals.

“Drones are very popular, tech is flying off the shelf, we know that manchester and apparel are something that is very popular and those high-end items that people wait to go on discount once or twice a year,” she said.

Shoppers are urged to use public transport to avoid parking headaches, bring a bottle of water and wear comfortable footwear.

“Boxing Day is very much about getting your family together and getting in those lines and trying to bag a bargain,” she said.

Ms Lamb said Australians “absolutely hang out” for the biggest sales day of the year.

“They really do wait with all their gift cards to come in and it’s becoming quite the family event … it’s quite extraordinary what Australians are prepared to spend,” she said.

“(They) take everyone along and they get to select what they want to buy, instead of getting a pair of socks from your aunty that you’re never going to use.”