Click Frenzy & Black Friday sales to capture more than half the festive market this year
New research has revealed that the pre-Christmas sales trifecta – Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday – will see 53 per cent of Australian online shoppers bring their holiday spending ahead this year to secure bargain gifts. Black Friday is set to capture a sizable Christmas market share this year, with Aussies holding off spending on either side of the event – in contrast to 2023, when Australia’s retail turnover fell by 0.4 per cent in October before a 2 per cent jump in November[1] and a 2.7 per cent drop in December when the sales ended.[2]
The findings come from Australia’s fastest-growing franchised courier service, CouriersPlease, which commissioned an independent, nationally representative survey of 1007 Australians who shop online to gauge how major sales events, held predominantly in November, are influencing Christmas shopping habits. This year, Click Frenzy is on November 11-15, Black Friday is November 29, and Cyber Monday falls on December 2.
The full survey results, with age and State and Territory breakdowns, can be found here.
How November became the new Christmas shopping season
One in three (35%) of survey respondents said they would do their Christmas shopping early to buy gifts at bargain Black Friday prices. By comparison, 21 per cent of survey respondents said they would hold off until in mid-December, 11 per cent will buy during Click Frenzy and 7 per cent during Cyber Monday.
The survey also revealed that last year more respondents did their Christmas shopping at the last minute, with 40 per cent of respondents making purchases in mid-December.
Black Friday sales twice as popular among under-50s
CouriersPlease found that under-50s are more likely to get their Christmas shopping done during Black Friday sales this year (43% will shop at the sale, compared with 23% of over-50s). Two thirds (66%) of under-50s will buy Christmas gifts across all three sales, compared with just one third (36%) of over-50s.
In contrast, over-50s are more likely to forego Christmas shopping altogether (27% won’t shop at all, compared with 9% of under-50s).
CouriersPlease CEO, Richard Thame, says the survey results highlight to the success of Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday among Australian consumers. “The proximity of these back-to-back sales events to Christmas, their deep discounts, and their extended durations – with Black Friday lasting up to two weeks – have proven to be a winning formula for retailers.
“The sales enable retailers to capture a large share of Christmas spending in November. With consumers likely to have smaller Christmas shopping budgets in December, retailers would be wise to target their Black Friday sales to Christmas gift buyers to successfully compete for a share of wallet.
“The November sales also give consumers peace of mind when it comes to shipping timeframes. While Click Frenzy and Black Friday create a crowded delivery schedule just like Christmas, these sales give online shoppers a head start, reducing the stress of last-minute deliveries. CouriersPlease reminds shoppers to get their shopping done before local delivery cut-off dates. With Christmas approaching, it's important to complete online purchases by the recommended dates to ensure deliveries arrive in time for the festive season.”
Richard expects the popularity of these pre-Christmas sales is also expected to keep growing as cost-of-living pressures continue. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024 with the most significant increases being in housing, food, clothes and footwear.[3]
The full survey results, including age and State and Territory breakdowns, can be found here.
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