Shoppers are expected to spend $26 billion across Australia during the end of financial year (EOFY) sales period in June according to forecasts from the National Retail Association (NRA).
The report predicts that NSW will have the highest spend of all states at $8.38 billion throughout June, followed by Victoria with $6.56 billion and Queensland at $5.2 billion.
The lowest predicted spend for the month of June is for the ACT and Northern Territory at $474 million and $281 million respectively.
NRE CEO Dominique Lamb said that despite a slow start to the year, the sector is on track for a solid spend in June.
“The NRA forecasts shoppers to spend $25.92 billion during June as Australians cash in on EOFY sales leading up to July 1.
“Retail has had a sluggish start to 2018 but our forecasts demonstrate a 3 percent increase on June 2017 sales and we're optimistic that the sector will pick up in the coming months.
“As usual, we expect clothing and fashion retail to feature prominently during the winter sales.
“With Sydney and Melbourne experiencing a warmer than usual start to winter, we are already seeing a number of department stores dramatically slashing their prices to clear stock.”