Rundle Mall spending records broken twice over festive season
Spending records in Rundle Mall were broken on Black Friday and again in the lead-up to Christmas, as new Australia Post data shows almost 103 million parcels were delivered nationally in November and December.
The record for the most money ever spent in a single day in Rundle Mall and the CBD was broken twice in the final two months of 2024 during busy sales and festive periods.
New Adelaide Economic Development Agency Data shows Rundle Mall’s Black Friday shopping event injected $23.5 million into the city’s economy on Friday, 29 November.
This record was quickly broken again on 20 December – Rundle Mall’s second day of midnight shopping in the lead-up to Christmas – when $24.8 million was spent in Adelaide.
It marked a 10 per cent increase on the previous record, which was set in December 2023 at $22.6 million, AEDA said.
“Last year’s festive season set a new benchmark for economic activity in the City and demonstrated how important a strong November and December is for city businesses,” AEDA executive manager, Rundle Mall, Andrew White said.
“We actively promoted Rundle Mall as Adelaide’s premier shopping destination and the only place to shop until midnight on Black Friday.
“While this helped drive spending on the most important day of the year for retail, the data shows Black Friday also had a halo effect for other city businesses, with the dining sector also seeing a significant uplift in spending.”
You might like
Citywide spending on Black Friday was 52 per cent higher than the 12-month Friday average last year, AEDA said, while dining spend across the CBD’s hospitality businesses was 10 per cent higher than the 2024 average.
Nearly 250,000 people visited Rundle Mall on Black Friday in 2024, AEDA data shows, which was 41 per cent more than the year’s average.
“Two record-setting days of spending coincided with two days of midnight shopping in Rundle Mall which shows there’s a strong appetite to shop longer and later in the city,” White said.
“People came to the city where they shopped, they ate, and soaked up everything Adelaide has to offer and, in doing so, spent millions of dollars in retail and hospitality businesses.”
Citywide spending in December reached $421 million – up 12 per cent on the prior year – making it the highest total spend in one month on record. Approximately 45 per cent of all money spent in the city was in retail stores, AEDA said.
Visitation numbers between 20 December and 22 December were the highest on record, with 600,000 last-minute shoppers making their way to the Mall.
Photo: Adelaide Economic Development Agency.
Stay informed, daily
Spending habits climb despite economic hardship
A new record was set for Australia Post’s busiest peak period during the latest festive season, with almost 103 million parcels delivered in the two months leading up to December 31.
This figure was released on Thursday and marked a 3.1 per cent climb from 2023 according to its latest quarterly Inside Australian Online Shopping Report.
Health and wellness was the crowd favourite for presents, growing 20.5 per cent in the number of online purchases since the previous year.
That was followed closely by athleisure and tools & garden increasing 15.8 per cent and 14.6 per cent.
More than 2800 parcels were delivered every minute in November and December across a total of 7.6 million households, a 2.4 per cent increase from last year.
Northern Territory shopping habits were up the most at 12.4 per cent, while Tasmania’s rose 11.4 per cent, which was followed by South Australia at 8.9 per cent.
Nationally, the three top suburbs for online shopping were the Queensland towns Mackay and Toowoomba, and Victoria’s Point Cook.
Australia Post parcel, post, and ecommerce services executive general manager Gary Starr said its busiest day, December 9, resulted in more than three million parcels delivered.
“While we are proud of what we have achieved, we can always do better, and we’ll reflect on this peak to start planning for the next,” he said.
It comes after another insight into Australians’ shopping habits by the insurer Budget Direct.
A survey, which polled almost 1000 people, found 38 per cent making a purchase monthly online, 30 per cent fortnightly and 21 per cent weekly.
More than half of all respondents – 69 per cent – said they planned to continue or increase their online purchases in the next 12 months.
– with AAP
