City reports lift in business spending

THE City of Greater Geelong is lauding its latest consumer spending data, with sales in central Geelong edging closer to the $1 billion mark last year.

Announced last week by the city, the Spendmapp by Geografia figures revealed central Geelong captured the largest amount of the $6.1 billion in total spending at $944 million, followed by Grovedale ($487 million) and Geelong West ($413 million).

Grocers and supermarkets ($1.2 billion) topped the list of categories, ahead of dining and entertainment ($828 million) and transport ($821 million).

Local residents spent the most money in Greater Geelong last year at 72 per cent.

Just over half (51 per cent) of domestic visitor spend came from rural and regional Victoria residents, ahead of Greater Melbourne locals (39 per cent), Greater Sydney visitors (2 per cent), tourists from rural and regional NSW (2 per cent) and other Australian locations (6 per cent).

The majority of visitors who shopped in the municipality came from Torquay ($136 million), Bannockburn ($67 million), Werribee ($26 million), Batesford ($23 million) and Colac ($22 million).

In total, Greater Geelong residents spent $9.3 billion last year – 47 per cent spent locally, 38 per cent online (inside and outside the Geelong region) and 15 per cent outside the municipality.

December 23 was the biggest shopping day of the year, at $29.7 million, with Black Friday sales jumping 5.6 per cent to $24.8 million to take seventh place.

Recent ABS estimates show nearly 800 new businesses are operating in the city in the year to June 2024 out of a total of 22,874 businesses.

The 3.5 per cent growth in the number of registered businesses places the city at seventh for growth in businesses out of Victoria’s 79 local government areas.

The vast majority of businesses – 22,269 – were sole traders or employing fewer than 20 people.

Lara had the largest increase in actively trading businesses (up 123), followed by Charlemont (up 113) and Grovedale–Mount Duneed (up 111).

The largest number of businesses by industry were construction (4801 businesses); professional, scientific and technical services (2632); and transport, postal and warehousing (2492).

Cr Trent Sullivan, chair of the council’s economic development portfolio, said small businesses were a huge economic driver in the municipality.

“It’s interesting to see that there are increases in actively trading businesses outside of central Geelong, building up the local communities in the suburbs and townships,” he said.

“I encourage traders to make the most of the city’s free small business support, whether that be workshops, mentoring, training, networking events or our Business Concierge service to help businesses determine the permits they need.”