Aussie Retailers Primed For Impact This Black Friday

The November ‘flash-sale’ season kicked off last week with Click Frenzy, and is set to continue over the next week as Australian consumers start taking advantage of America’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

According to Jordan Sim, the group product manager of BigCommerce, November has become a vital sales period for Australian retailers.

“The upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are big opportunities for Australian businesses. Not only do these sales get bigger every year, but they’re also attracting a record number of retailers, providing consumers with more choice than ever before, meaning competition for cut-through is fierce,” he said.

Recent research by Black Friday Global has revealed that 57 percent of Australians plans to shop online and in-store during this year’s Black Friday sales, while 37 percent will shop exclusively online.

“Google’s data suggests that in the last five years the interest of Internet users in this event has more than doubled,” Black Friday Global said in its latest analysis of consumer shopping habits during the annual shopping event.

In response to increasing consumer demand, retailers are set to offer an average discount of 53 percent off this year, with clothing, electronics and shoes being the three most popular categories.

Marketplaces Get in on the Action

Amazon and eBay’s Australian branches have both released early Black Friday deals, promising customers limited-time deals and huge savings across the board. In typical fashion, Kogan.com has also jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon, touting over 2,000 deals that will be available in the lead up to, and during Black Friday, while Catch.com.au is advertising its own sale as ‘The Biggest Sale Event of the Year”.

Amazon

Amazon Australia is holding its first Black Friday sale down under, since launching its local marketplace in December 2017.

The company is looking to take advantage of early bird shoppers by releasing deals on a rolling basis, with consumers currently having access to reduced prices on Dyson vacuum cleaners and Fujifilm cameras, with a slew of specials on wireless Bluetooth headphones and cleaning products set to launch over the next few days.

eBay

eBay is advertising 20 percent off for this weekend’s shopping event when consumers use the code PEPPY at the checkout. Like Amazon, eBay’s Aussie marketplace has also started its sale early, offering discounts on everything from computer equipment to yard and garden accessories.

However, the specials on offer to Australian consumers through the .com.au version of the site pale in comparison to the deals the global business is offering on its American site.

“On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, holiday shoppers want unbelievable prices on the most-wanted gifts and brands,” said Scott Cutler, Senior Vice President, Americas.

According to Cutler, eBay will be releasing a new set of deals every day at 5 am, with up to 80 percent off available on products from November 19 until November 26. “eBay customers can start saving big with our cyber deals. eBay’s Guaranteed Delivery and Best Price Guarantee program ensure shoppers can find and save on everything this holiday season.”

Kogan

Kogan is never one to miss an opportunity to flog special deals to its consumers, with the homegrown marketplace claiming more than 2,000 items on the platform will be reduced. According to a statement released by the company, its top “Black Friday Week” deals will include a $250 discount on the Dyson V7 Cord-Free Vacuum Cleaner, and a $268 reduction on the Apple iPhone X (64GB Silver), to name a few.

Catch

Catch is also offering early bird access to this weekend’s shopping event, with deals available on ASICS runners and beauty brands like MAC and L’Oreal.

Hundreds of other Australian retailers are offering exclusive Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, with Princess Polly offering 20 percent off sitewide, while Redballoon is advertising up to 50 percent off experiences. The ICONIC, David Jones and ASOS are also slated to participate in this year’s shopping event as well, along with Myer, SurfStitch and Nasty Gal.

Last year, Australians reportedly spent more than $200 million on their smartphones alone during Black Friday, but according to Hitwise data, homegrown shopping event, Click Frenzy, topped the US event for online visits in 2017.

On November 14 and 15, during Click Frenzy, Shopping & Classifieds websites in Australia drew 78.25 million visits online, versus the Black Friday sales, November 24-25, which attracted 69.85 million visits.

While no data surrounding this year’s Click Frenzy event have been released to-date, company organisers have claimed it was the “biggest” event yet.

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