Australians are set to spend a record $6.2 billion between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with retailers spruiking major discounts across a wide range of products.
Shoppers are also forecast to spend nearly $64 billion in the lead up to Christmas, up 3 per cent on last year, according to the latest consumer insight data released by the Australian Retailers Association with Roy Morgan.
Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said much of that spending will occur between November 25-28, when the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales come into play.
“Aussies love a bargain and Black Friday continues to grow as an event in Australia – bringing us into line with the power of this event in the US,” he said.
“This is driven by a few factors – the continued high level of household savings, Aussies wanting to grab a bargain and to also get in ahead of price increases.
“With ongoing supply chain disruptions, many shoppers are also trying to get their shopping in early, to avoid disappointment.”
Recent Salesforce data revealed shoppers can expect to see an average 22 per cent discount on items they buy across this weekend.
Mr Zahra said the recent surge of support for Black Friday sales in Australia is significant and instills confidence in both retailers and customers.
“For Aussie retailers, Black Friday is a great momentum builder for Christmas – it certainly creates a lot of buzz in stores and helps encourage shoppers to really plan their purchases,” he said.
“It also helps spread the impact of the sales events that occur at other times of the year and can be fairly intense for staff and customers.
“Retailers and consumers view the Black Friday sales as an early gift-purchasing opportunity.
“The Boxing Day sales, which come later, tend to be a time when Australians purchase gifts for themselves or their household.
“It’s great to have that distinct focus for the sales events.”
Mr Zahra said there’s been a recent shift towards earlier holiday sales, with 25 per cent of all retail sales during the holiday period to take place during Cyber week.
“Most of our research and retailer feedback points to a shift towards earlier holiday sales – suggesting that Black Friday is having an impact on earlier trading,” he said.
“This is also influenced by customers wanting to get in ahead of price increases – and to avoid disappointment with ongoing supply chain challenges.
“However, in our experience, once a customer trend changes, it sticks.
But there’s still many shoppers who like to save their festive shopping for the last minute, with Salesforce data revealing 84 per cent of sales will take place in the week prior to Christmas.
Meanwhile, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, cyber experts are concerned financial losses due to cyber crime could be on the rise.
Australians have reported losing more than $14.8m through online shopping scams this year, according to Scamwatch.