With the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan predicting Australian’s to spend over $7.3 billion in the ‘Other retailing’ category during the Christmas trading period from November 9 to December 24, 2018, the ARA suspect books will be piled high under the Christmas tree this year.
The ARA believe physical and online books will contribute marginally to the ‘Other retailing’ category, with the ARA and Roy Morgan projecting a 2.7% increase in sales for this category in the lead-up to Christmas.
Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA, said retailers who specialise in books will be preoccupied with filling orders for customers who will be purchasing books to gift to their families and friends for the big day.
“With Christmas only a little over a week away, Dymocks are estimating over 2 million books to be sold in the lead-up to Christmas, accounting for 30% of total books sales,” Mr Zimmerman said.
“As a subsequence, book retailers will be experiencing a significant increase in the amount of pre-orders being placed through the stores and customers will be flocking to the shops to secure the perfect reads for their loved ones.”
Findings from Nielsen BookScan detect that online book merchants will also receive an influx in sales, with the last four weeks of the year accounting for 17% of total annual sales value. Nielsen BookScan have also noticed a growth in physical book sales, with a 1.3% increase so far this year. Sophie Higgins, Head of Marketing and Merchandise at Dymocks, said this year’s non-fiction category will notice a buoyant incline from 39% to 50% of total sales, with biographies and cookbooks influencing the surge.
“With the likes of Shane Warne, Leigh Sales and Michelle Obama’s biographies hitting the shelves, customers have been eager to get their hands on some of the biggest titles to come out this year,” Ms Higgins said.
“Cookbooks are always a fan favourite for Christmas, and with bestsellers coming from Jamie Oliver, Donna Hay, Yotam Ottlenghi and Annabel Crabb, Aussies will have endless recipes to trial and master.”
Australian fiction has also experienced a resurgence in the lead-up to Christmas, with top-five Australian authors, including Matthew Reilly, Liane Moriarty, Jane Harper and Kate Morton, releasing new titles this year.
“It is quite pleasing to see bibliophiles supporting homegrown authors. With such a rich breadth of talent to select from, consumers will have their shelves full of intriguing and thought-provoking novels this Christmas,” Mr Zimmerman said.
According to Dymocks, children’s books will also see a 150% sales spike during the festive season. With pre-orders for author Jessica Townsend exceeding 1100, children’s imaginations will be filled with exciting stories and adventures to share with their friends and family.
Whether you’re a lover of non-fiction, cookbooks or novels, or simply wish to spoil your child with captivating tales, there are an abundance of spectacular page turners to unwrap for Christmas this year.
ARA Roy Morgan Pre-Christmas Sales Predictions November 9 – 24, 2018
2018 Pre-Christmas Sales Growth by Category
2018 Pre-Christmas Sales Growth by State
[ARA/ ROY MORGAN]
