Motorists have celebrated cheaper petrol prices by going shopping.
Pump prices have fallen to the lowest point in four years, giving consumers something to be cheerful about following a run of bad economic news.
The Australian Retailers Association, which represents small businesses and department store Myer, says this has encouraged people to spend, since suburban stores reopened after the Boxing Day sales.
"There have been very low interest rates, and even talk about interest rates going down again ... and very low petrol prices," the group's executive director Russell Zimmerman told AAP.
"You've got that in your favour which is causing people to go out and buy goods and people see the great bargains that are out there."
CommSec chief economist Craig James said the cheapest wholesale petrol prices since October 2010 had left consumers with more cash.
"The petrol price is good news for family budgets and for consumer confidence," he said, adding that terminal gate unleaded prices had fallen by 2.6 cents a litre during the past week to a smidge under $1.12.
Before Christmas, however, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment measure showed shoppers were at their gloomiest level in three years.
And that was before official figures showed the unemployment rate hitting a 12-year high of 6.3 per cent.
In early December, Westpac became the first major bank to forecast the Reserve Bank of Australia cutting the official interest rate in 2015, with chief economist Bill Evans predicting cuts in February and March.
A few days later, National Australia Bank revised its forecasts to predict two rate cuts next year.
The Interest rate has been at a record low of 2.5 per cent since August 2013 but the futures market is still pricing in a rate cut in February as a one in five chance.
But if the traditionally-strong Boxing Day sales in the city centres are any guide, perhaps consumers are happy right now.
"Across the country, I'm going to say they've been very strong," Mr Zimmerman said.
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