In recent years, the buzz surrounding Black Friday sales in Australia has grown significantly. What is traditionally known as an American-centric event, 2021 saw Black Friday sales eclipse the Boxing Day sales for the first time here in Australia.
In a 2021 survey, 31% of Australians planned to shop during Black Friday, this was compared to 26% on Boxing Day – which has historically been seen as Australia’s major sale period. So what does this mean in dollars? According to NAB, Australians spent $8 billion last year (2021) during the four-day sale period starting with Black Friday through to Cyber Monday.
This increase in sales activity has also benefited Australian eCommerce businesses.
Black Friday and Australian eCommerce
According to AusPost’s Annual eCommerce Industry Report (2021), Australians spent a whopping $62.3 billion on online physical goods, which equates to a 19.3% overall share of total retail sales.
This appetite for online shopping has also been trending upwards, with 2021 demonstrating an impressive 23.4% jump in year-on-year growth.
When it comes to Black Friday, Australians aren’t shy about seeking out eCommerce brands to hunt for deals. In fact, since COVID-related lockdowns, online shopping has boomed.
What Australians look for during Black Friday sales
Due to the fact that Black Friday is so close to the end of the year, BFCM has become a major opportunity for Australians to conduct their pre-Christmas shopping. With Christmas gift-giving being very much part of Australian culture, Black Friday sales are regarded as the perfect opportunity for consumers to make the most of their gifting budget.
When it comes to spending, there are some definite trends. According to Finder, below are some of the top shopping items purchased during the four-day sale period:
| Clothes/Shoes | 42% |
| Food/Alcohol | 33% |
| I don’t plan on buying anything | 30% |
| Electronics/gadgets | 25% |
| Toys | 24% |
| Beauty/makeup/skincare | 16% |
| Manchester/homewares | 13% |
| Travel | 10% |
| Furniture | 7% |
| White goods | 5% |
| Other | 5% |
When it comes to spending, Black Friday is when Australians will be spending the most, with an average of $403 spent per person during the sale period. For eCommerce businesses, it’s super crucial to have your promotional activity planned and executed in the lead-up to the sales event.
When it comes to online shopping, Australian shoppers are looking mainly for convenience, price and product availability. Brands that operate in the online space need to be acutely aware of what resonates with their customers as well as recognise what doesn’t.
The following tend to be online shoppers’ main pet peeves:
| Long delivery wait times | 51% |
| High shipping costs | 50% |
| My package going to the post office when I was home | 44% |
| Hidden fees (e.g. extra delivery or service fees) | 27% |
| The delivery person not following delivery instructions | 24% |
| I shop online, but I don’t have any pet peeves | 10% |
| The retailer not accepting my credit card or preferred payment type | 9% |
| I don’t shop online | 8% |
| The price is displayed on a gift | 6% |
| Other | 2% |
How eCommerce brands should leverage Black Friday sales
Like all things, preparation is key, and getting your marketing and promotional activity ahead of time is doubly important for Black Friday sales.
Unfortunately, simply applying a discount to your store and hoping for the best isn’t going to cut it.
Given the gravity of BFCM and the penchant for consumers to spend big, a lot of retail brands will be channelling a lot of their marketing activity to make the most out of the sales event.
Therefore, competition for consumers’ money will be fierce.
This increased competition also impacts channels such as paid media and inflates advertising costs, such as Facebook/Instagram (where costs can easily double during BFCM).
This is where having owned data becomes crucial, and allows your brand to communicate directly and effectively to your audience. Leveraging email marketing can ease the pressure from ad spending and help bolster the success of your sales campaign.
Conclusion
For Australian shoppers, it would seem that Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are here to stay. With an increased appetite for online shopping, Australian eCommerce brands are well positioned to take advantage of this major sales event.
However, preparation and planning are key to having a successful sales campaign. Check out our article on how to prepare your email and SMS channels for your next BFCM sale event.
