Retailers expecting $20 billion Christmas shopping boom

Retailers are predicting bumper trade in the post-Christmas sales, with Australians projected to spend close to $20 billion – and online shopping is likely to get the biggest piece of that pie.

At The Iconic's giant warehouse in Yennora in Sydney's south-west, a robot processes online orders in just eight minutes each, and those orders are showing no sign of slowing.

"Customers are really responding to the convenience of online shopping," The Iconic's Anna Lee said.

The Iconic started with selling fashion, but extended its range this year to meet growing online demand.

At the shopping peak of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 800,000 items were picked and packed.

Australia Post's numbers show it's part of a broader trend.

Online sales for November were up 55.6 per cent on the previous year, to an all-time record.

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They were even up 17 per cent from October.

And online shopping now is already more than 20 per cent above the 2019 pre-Christmas peak.

But traditional retailers are also finding reason to be a bit more optimistic as crowds return to the streets.

"Our post-Christmas retail forecasts are at 3.9 per cent on last year which is phenomenal, given the year that we've had," Paul Zahra of the Australian Retailers Association said.