Aussie shoppers are tipped to splurge more on Boxing Day than in previous years, largely due to record low interest rates.
The National Retail Association is predicting people will shell out about $2.28 billion on Monday, the highest Boxing Day spend in Australian retail history.
NRA chief executive Dominique Lamb said shoppers taking advantage of the post-Christmas sales were expected to spend $100 million or 4.2 per cent more than they did on Boxing Day last year.
"Consumer spending has become much easier based on the fact that the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) has kept interest rates at a record low," Ms Lamb told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
"We've also seen an increase in consumer confidence; Commonwealth Bank is predicting that this (month) is a seven-and-a-half-year high on consumer spending for December."
The RBA left interest rates on hold at an all-time low of 1.5 per cent earlier this month.
Queenslander retailers in particular are tipped to enjoy the largest increase in Boxing Day spending, with the NRA predicting them to take in $390 million, a six per cent boost on last year.
Group general manager at Westfield John Warn said a record two million shoppers were expected to visit Westfield stores on December 26.
"That will mean that almost one-in-ten Australians will be visiting a Westfield centre on Boxing Day," he told reporters.
Christmas Eve sales figures should be slightly more modest, with shoppers around the country tipped to spend $1.6 billion on Saturday.
While Sydney's Pitt Street Mall was subdued on Saturday, the Sydney Fish Markets was on track to eclipse 100,000 customers during its 36-hour pre-Christmas trading marathon.
One in 10 Aussies to shop on Christmas Eve
Dashing through the shops the day before Christmas is the plan of last resort for one-in-ten Australians, research has found.
According to the study, commissioned by department store chain David Jones, a third of Aussies will fill aisles in the week before December 25 and a tenth will search for stocking fillers on Christmas Eve.
Generation Y is the most guilty of last minute gift grabbing (22 per cent) followed by Gen X (13 per cent) and Baby Boomers (seven per cent).
Joyful and triumphant feelings will be replaced with stress for half of scrambling shoppers, while just three-in-ten Aussies reportedly love Christmas shopping, the study found.
Early planning certainly has its perks with a tenth of Aussies starting preparations in September - in some instances as early as January - and almost a third buying presents strategically throughout the year.
Ninety-three per cent of people plan to celebrate Christmas with their family and friends.
No expense is being spared for loved ones with The Nutribullet ($179-$399), Breville Coffee Machine ($799), Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer ($599) and Lego Creator Ferris Wheel ($299) among David Jones' top Christmas sellers.
But with complimentary or gold coin gift wrapping, valet parking and personal shoppers available at a number of centres across the country, bamboozled buyers can take some comfort in knowing they are not in it alone.
FINAL, FRANTIC DASH FOR FESTIVE SEASON
- 87 per cent of Aussies go Christmas shopping
- 33 per cent shop in the week before Christmas, 14 per cent on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
- Nine per cent begin preparations in September, and in some instances as early as January
- 39 per cent get stressed because they don't know what to buy
- 30 per cent love the experience
