Cyber Weekend 2020: Did It Live Up to the Hype?

Australia Post has reported that it expects more than three million parcels will be delivered from Cyber Weekend alone. Since Friday morning, more than three million packages and deliveries have been made across Australia.

According to Australia Post, this years’ event hs seen e-commerce sales up more than 45 percent YoY.

“Our people have worked incredibly hard all year, demonstrating agility and resilience to manage volumes we would traditionally have had months to prepare for,” said Rod Barnes, the Executive General Manager Deliveries at Australia Post.

“We’ve made the right investments in our network and stand ready today to set a new record – the busiest day in our 210-year history – as we head towards our biggest peak in history.”

Shopping Insights

Some of the biggest categories, according to AusPost, include home and liquor, home and garden, variety store purchases, and health and beauty – up 72 percent from this time last year.

In a report from Shopify, Australia was the fourth top-selling country across the globe for Black Friday, made by Shopify merchants.

The peak hour for sales in Australi was 10 AM, the Shopify report found, with the top-selling city being Southbank.

Mobile shopping is starting to dominate the entire e-commerce scene, with 65 percent of shoppers using their handheld devices to snag a bargain, and 35 percent sticking to desktop.

The top product categories, according to Shopify, included apparel and accessories, with the AOV sitting at $149.25 – this is up from $128.93 in 2019.

The Predictions

Last week, the National Retail Association predicted that the Cyber Weekend sale would reap over $5 billion in retail sales across the country.

“The four days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday has emerged as one of the signature periods on the retail calendar. In 2020 businesses are very optimistic that it will generate real momentum as we head into December,” said Dominique Lamb, the CEO of the National Retail Association.

“Each year we’re seeing more and more shoppers look to knock off the Christmas shopping earlier. This is in large part due to late-November sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” she said.

The NRA also forecast that online sales would hit a projected $1.8 billion. “The growth in online sales has been accelerated by the pandemic, but we’re still expecting to see a lot of action in bricks and mortar stores. Digital purchases offer great convenience, but many consumers also crave a more wholesome shopping experience which can only be obtained in-store,” Lamb explained.

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