Australians ready to celebrate in style as alcohol sales soar

Australians are ready to end the year with a bang. Spending on alcohol is set to rise by 5% this December, an all-time high, while spending overall is set to outpace other major economies.

The report by IBISWorld predicts that Australians will spend $1.2 billion on alcohol in December. Experts noted that strong competition between Coles and Woolworths had caused sales of foreign wine and beer to soar.

Australians just pip the English to the post in terms of alcohol consumption across Anglophone countries, according to the report, averaging 10.61 litres of alcohol in 2011 compared to the British at 10.58 litres.

A rather stunning revelation, given the many reports about Australian caution and focus on credit card debt reduction in September and October, was that overall spending over the Christmas period is set to outstrip America, the UK and China.

According to CoreData, the average Australian household will spend $1,055 over the festive season. Americans are only expected to average $644 and the UK $815. Australians will spend more than 2 ½ times as much as the Chinese, the inhabitants of the world’s fastest growing economy ($400).

CoreData boss Andrew Inwood addressed the apparent change in attitude of Australian consumers: "Australians were among the first in the world to tighten their belts in the global financial crisis (GFC). But Christmas is non-negotiable for families."

Consumers might like to consider a balance transfer credit card in the New Year, to ensure a low rate of interest on existing debts. It is also important to ensure that credit cards and other essentials are safe during the copious inebriated periods of the festive season.

Joe Letts