Payments company Square has released its Christmas retail analysis from 2017, finding the final weekend in November as the busiest of the year.

Using data collected from its customers’ “millions of sales” last Christmas, Square has released a series of insights for retailers this year. According to Square, the busiest retail trading day in 2017 – not only for the holiday season, but the whole year – was precisely a month out from Christmas Day, 25 November.

“The holiday shopping rush is the busiest time of year for a lot of businesses, so these data insights are extremely valuable in helping them make better, more informed decisions about how to prepare inventory and marketing to maximise sales,” says Ben Pfisterer, Australian country manager and head of APAC at Square.

Square’s analysis found that turnover jumped to a 57% increase in revenue last November, with turnover reaching its peak at a 73% increase in December.

Leisure and entertainment businesses received the biggest boost in December 2017, with turnover more than doubling to 159%; retail saw turnover increases of 106%, food and beverage saw spikes 80% and spending on beauty increased by 74%.

Pfisterer continues, “As Australian consumers are becoming more cashless, with 80% now preferring to pay by card, the opportunity for business owners to work smarter is becoming much greater.”

“Card payments carry a significant amount of useful data, so digital payments systems can now be used as a powerful reporting tool to see instantly what products are selling the best, the average spend per sale and the frequency of their customers.”

Jason Chongue, cofounder and director of The Plant Society, comments on Square’s findings, “Looking at our sales data from last year, we can predict exactly when our peak selling days are likely to be, so we know when we need to have extra staff, payment devices, and stock on hand.”

Further Reading:

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