Shoppers are expected to fork out more than $8 billion on food and liquor this festive season, IBISWorld forecasts.
IBISWorld analyst Raghu Rajakumar said shoppers were snubbing specialised food outlets to get a cheaper version of Christmas goodies at the supermarket, with the food bill tipped to hit $8 billion.
Woolworths and Coles are expected to pocket $6.87 billion, while $724.9 million will be spent on specialised food and $733.2 million on liquor.
Coles spokesman Jim Cooper said mince pies, puddings and turkeys were the hottest items for Christmas.
“Mince pies or mince tarts have been very strong sellers…we’re expecting sales to be very strong leading into the last two days before Christmas,” he said.
