More than $420 million dollars is set to be spent by Victorians chasing a last minute present or the perfect turkey on Christmas Eve.

Some 10 per cent of people started their Christmas shopping on Saturday – while those more prepared hit the markets to get the freshest produce for their Christmas table.

The Queen Victoria Market expected over 60,000 customers on Saturday with an estimated 2500 turkeys, 15 tonnes of prawns and 2000 hams to fly out the door.

Retail Council acting chief executive Steve Wright said many took advantage of the fact that Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday rather than a working day.

“It’s probably going to be a little bit bigger than usual simply because Christmas falls on a Sunday which means we get a Christmas Eve – the last get out-of-jail opportunity for people who have not yet completed their shopping – on Saturday,” he said.

“That does make it a little bit easier to do the last minute things.”

Extended trading hours during the week and on Friday night have also encouraged people to leave their shopping to the last minute, Wright said.

Consumers are expected to spend between $500 to $750 on top of their usual monthly spend buying presents, food and drinks, the Retail Council says.

Victorians are the second biggest Christmas spenders in the country – second to NSW.

In the six weeks before Christmas, Victorians will have spent $12 billion, compared to NSW’s $15 billion, out of a national total of $47 billion.

Australians are set to spend more than $2 billion nationally in just one day on heavily discounted products.

Shoppers in Sydney and Melbourne will part with the most cash, $661 million and $518 million respectively, with Queenslanders and Western Australians next.

For retailers, Boxing Day is the single biggest day of the year and can make their year.

“It can turn an average year into something a bit better,” the Retail Council’s acting chief executive Steve Wright said.

With many shoppers having gotten a taste of good sales during the lead up to Christmas, there is quite a bit of optimism going around, Wright believes.

“We’ve got probably the best affordability on just about everything that there has been in recent memory,” he said.

“That’s probably encouraged shoppers. People are more inclined to go shopping and to spend more if they feel like they’re getting good value.”

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