New research is showing consumers are planning to do their Christmas shopping early with Black Friday on November 26 coming out a likely winner.
More Australians are intending to shop the Black Friday sales than ever before, according to industry site, Finder, with a national survey of 1,015 respondents revealing that 31% of Australians – over six million people – plan to shop the Black Friday sales, while just over one in four (26%) intended to shop on Boxing Day.
And it’s the first year that more Australians are planning to splurge on Black Friday over the Boxing Day sales. When Finder asked Australians the same question in 2020, more people said they would shop on Boxing Day (29%) than Black Friday (26%).
The estimated average spend is $197 and the most popular items on the purchase list were clothing/shoes (42%), food/alcohol (33%) and electronics (25%).
Finder head of consumer research, Graham Cooke, said spending has been cut largely due to the pandemic. “There are some serious savings to be had this side of Christmas, with the Black Friday sales this year tipped to be epic.”
However, he said the biggest pet peeve when it comes to online shopping is long delivery wait times followed by high shipping costs.
New Canstar research found that Australians intended to shop the Black Friday sale event to save on Christmas gifts, with 64% planning to lower their Christmas gift spend this year. The survey findings also showed that younger Australians are leading the Black Friday charge with more than a third of Generation Z planning to shop the sale to save on Christmas gifts, followed by Generation Y.
Canstar finance spokesperson, Steve Mickenbecker said many Australians are sitting on a stockpile of savings after lengthy lockdowns and are ready to open their wallets, and if last year’s sale figures are anything to go by, the retail sector is set to boom in the lead-up to Christmas.
“We are already seeing discounts of up to 80% from some retailers, with hundreds more deals expected to come. This means you could potentially knock off your entire Christmas shopping list without paying full price,” he said.