The Australian Retailers Association says businesses are reporting that Boxing Day sales have exceeded their expectations.

The association’s executive director Russell Zimmerman told ABC TV that post-Christmas sales were forecast to generate $16.1 billion nationally.

• More post-Xmas sales to come
• Boxing Day sales to top $2 billion: retailers

“Boxing Day itself we forecast $2 billion worth of sales on that day and I’m absolutely certain we would have exceeded that,” he said.

“Every retailer that I’ve spoken to has assured me that they’ve had a better-than-expected day, so good news in the retail industry.”

Despite weaker-than-expected sales throughout most of December, Mr Zimmerman said he expects last minute gift shopping will have pushed pre-Christmas sales close to the ARA’s $45 billion forecast.

“From the Friday the 19th … we started to see a turn at that point,” he said.

“That was pretty much when offices and builders started to close down and, in that week leading into Christmas, we had a very, very good week – right up even until Christmas Eve they were buying gifts, which is fairly unusual.”

Mr Zimmerman said some judicious discounting helped generate the boost and that momentum should continue for a few weeks into the new year.

“You’re going to see retailers come up with some other product and some further discounting as we move further down into January,” he forecast.

However, he does not see that as the beginning of a sustained turnaround from recent years of weak retail conditions.

“I think it’s still going to be fairly tough for 2015, and all the reports that we’re reading we’re reading at this stage say that 2015 will probably be softer than 2014, so this might be a little bit of an uplift before a slightly calming period.”