Australians hit the shops hard over the weekend, spending an estimated $8.3 billion in the last two days, a 4.6 per cent increase on last year.

It comes despite a recent ANZ Roy Morgan survey showing business confidence at its lowest level for this time of year since the Global Financial Crisis.

CEO of the National Retailers Association, Dominique Lamb, said the figures are promising after a slow beginning to the pre-Christmas shopping period.

“We’ve seen very positive numbers coming through so far,” she told 3AW’s Kate Stevenson and Tony Leonard, filling in for Ross and John.

But shopping trends are shifting, with a turn towards experiences instead of physical gifts.

“We just know that consumers now are a bit over ‘things’. What they want to do is experience new experiences,” Ms Lamb said.

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Image: Bloomberg