Bankwest’s Spend Trends analysis of Black Friday transactions has revealed the likely gifts Western Australians can expect this Christmas, with Clothing Stores, Sporting/Toy Stores, and Electric Appliance retailers running hot.
Bankwest’s Spend Trends report tracks WA customer credit and debit activity to identify insights in response to economic conditions, with the penultimate month before Christmas showing a surge in customer activity.
Clothing Stores (18%), Sporting/Toy Stores (17%), and Electric Appliance (16%) retailers were the only sectors to grow by double-figures in the number of customers spending week-on-week for the Black Friday sales period.
The three sectors also surged week-on-week in the volume of transactions (Electric Appliance 49%; Clothing Stores 27%; Sporting/Toy Stores 22%), confirming the Black Friday sales preferences of customers.
However, while retailers experienced a Black Friday boost, the year-on-year November figures highlighted the continued trend of stagnant growth across the number of customers spending, and transaction value and volume.
The number of customers spending compared to the previous year contracted (-0.7%), while the volume of transactions remained stable (2%), with the value up (7%) as expected under cost-of-living pressures.
The generation snapshot also revealed those cost-of-living pressures were not discriminatory, with the number of Millennials (-5.2%), Gen X (-4.6%), and Baby Boomers (-3.2%) that transacted in November all falling year-on-year.
It was the discretionary sectors that were sacrificed, as spending at Electric Appliance retailers fell by more than 30 per cent across all three generations, with Department Stores also experiencing significant year-on-year declines.
It was a similar trend across the generations in the volume of transactions, with Millennials (0.2%), Gen X (1.7%), and Baby Boomers (0.7%) barely shifting year-on-year.
Bankwest General Manager Products and Digital Services Peter Bouhlas said: “Current economic conditions are presenting challenges for many Western Australians, especially with Christmas approaching.
“We can see in the Spend Trends analysis that Western Australians are responding by really reining in spending across the board, and we’ve now experienced consecutive months of little-to-no growth in transaction activity.
“The Black Friday period proved a boon for retailers, but even that week, when compared year-on-year, showed few signs of growth, indicating customers took advantage of sales, but weren’t increasing spending overall.
“It is always interesting, though, to see which sectors begin increasing in transaction activity as we approach Christmas, and it looks as though there’ll be plenty of clothes, toys, and electrical goods under the tree this year.
“Of course, this time of year can also be incredibly challenging for many people, and I urge any customers experiencing financial difficulties to get in touch with us so we can support their individual needs."
