As retailing season gets into full swing, with December 25 just four weeks away and Black Friday sales ubiquitous this week, new ARA-Roy Morgan 2019 pre-Christmas spending predictions forecast Australians will spend nearly $53 billion this year in the lead-up to Christmas.
“Christmas comes but once per year and Australia’s retailers are hoping for a bumper season, after retail spending growth remained subdued for much of 2019,” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.
“Roy Morgan’s pre-Christmas spending predictions, released in conjunction with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), show expected spending of nearly $53 billion, up 2.6% on a year ago and well above the latest ABS Inflation level of 1.7%. And for parents who really want to win favour with their kids, a Netflix subscription may well account for part of that spending.”
The streaming service topped the Kids’ Cool List in Roy Morgan’s Young Australians Survey for a second straight year – with Netflix nominated as ‘really cool’ by 66% of 6-13 year olds (up 3% points on 2018) and more than 70% of 10-13 year olds.
In second place is former Number 1 (in 2016), the Apple iPad on 60%, then the Apple iPhone on 53%. Netflix is in top spot for both girls and boys ahead of the iPad with girls putting the Apple iPhone in third spot although for boys it is the Sony Playstation 4 that takes third spot. More than twice as many boys as girls say they consider the PlayStation 4 ‘really cool’.
Other items rated ‘really cool’ by kids (likely to the chagrin of parents on a budget) are Computers, including Laptops and Tablets (47%), Nike products (46%), the computer games Minecraft (43%), Fortnite (43%) and Roblox (39%), Harry Potter products (40%), Books to read (37%) and Microsoft’s Xbox One gaming console (36%).
Gifts that girls rate ‘really cool’ also include products by or featuring Disney, Adidas, L.O.L. Surprise, Minions, The Simpsons and Wonder Woman, while boys are opt for Nerf Guns, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Nintendo Switch and The Hulk.
“No doubt Disney will be also hoping streaming and subscription TV services are on parents’ radars when it comes to gifts for their children, with its Disney+ launched just in time for Christmas,” said Ms Levine.
With around 2,500 young respondents per year, Roy Morgan’s Young Australian Survey has been measuring the changing tastes, opinions and activities of Aussie kids for many years, proving to be an invaluable resource for both retailers and parents keen to ensure they know what children and teens want.
The Kids’ Cool List: what Australian kids think is really cool now
Source: Roy Morgan Young Australian Survey, July 2018-June 2019, n=2,226. Base: Australian children 6-13.
Source: Roy Morgan
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