The Squiz  

It turns out that last year’s Christmas cheer was on a tight budget… New data from the Bureau of Stats that dropped yesterday shows a significant fall in retail spending in December. Central to the story is Aussies’ splurge during November’s Black Friday sales, but the 2.7% drop in retail spending into December is still almost unheard of. According to the government agency, the biggest drop came from household goods retailing (including everything from furniture to garden supplies to electronics), which fell by 8.5% between November and December. 

Ho ho no…

Yep, Santa has some explaining to do… Speaking of retail stress, the stats were driven home with news that vacuum retailer Godfreys has been sucked up by the times and entered voluntary administration. The brand, established in 1931, has 141 stores across Australia and New Zealand, and the administrators expect to clean out 54 of those stores within the next fortnight, which will see 193 staff lose their jobs. As for why Godfreys is getting a hose down, administrator Craig Crosbie says that “lower customer demand amid cost of living pressures, higher operating costs, and increased competition have all taken a toll on profitability”. They will try to sell what’s left of the business. 

What’s the outlook?

You won’t find any predictions here, not during this rollercoaster economic cycle… but the data shows heaps of Aussies are feeling gloomy. A new survey from ANZ and Roy Morgan shows that the economic pessimists still outweigh the optimists, which has been the norm since 2022. At the same time, the Australian Stock Exchange has been on a tear for the past few months and is nearly at an all-time high. So, it’s complicated… but there are 2 things thing we do know: some important inflation numbers are out this morning, and the Reserve Bank board is convening next Tuesday for its February meeting on interest rates. So let’s get those inputs and see what the boffins and analysts make of it all…