Electronic gadgets, home entertainment and holiday bookings have helped drive booming Black Friday sales, putting shoppers on track to spend a record amount despite cost-of-living pressures.
Australian consumers were on target to splurge $6.7 billion at this year's Black Friday to Cyber Monday sales, up 5.5 per cent from 2023, the Australian Retail Association said.
The bumper figure is being largely attributed to cash-strapped consumers seeking discounted holiday-season gifts as many household budgets feel the pressure from high interest rates and inflation.
Association chief industry affairs officer Fleur Brown said crowds were big in stores for most segments, with actual trade expected to hit the industry group's multibillion-dollar forecast.
"Certainly there is a leaning to things like clothing and accessories, technology, television, mobile phones, that kind of thing," she said.
"Even services have got offers out there," she added, pointing to the likes of travel companies and beauty parlours.
Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia chief executive Luke Achterstraat said popular categories for its 6000 members were electronics, holiday bookings and music.
More than one-quarter of small businesses were expected to take part in this Black Friday, which Mr Achterstraat said was the highest percentage on record.
"It's definitely trending upwards and it comes back to this demand from consumers for value and being quite price-conscious," he said.
"Things like Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday are a reminder that consumers do still vote with their wallets and are looking to purchase in the lead-up to Christmas."
Almost 66 per cent of shoppers planned to make a purchase at sales in November and December, according to recent research from Monash Business School.
Some 30 per cent intended to use buy-now, pay-later schemes across the two months.
Lead researcher Stephanie Atto said discounting was attractive for cash-strapped gift-givers.
"Obviously Australians are feeling the pressures of cost of living at the moment and inflation and high interest rates, so what we saw was that they are saving up to take advantage of promotional periods," she said.
"These sales events offer a welcome reprieve and an opportunity to snatch a bargain in time for Christmas."
Consumer group Choice warned consumers to stay alert for scam websites, dangerous products and rip-off extended warranties in the lead-up to the holidays.
It also urged shoppers to acquaint themselves with their legal rights to refunds for defective items under consumer laws.
Comparison site Finder said internal research indicated many products jumped in price before the sales to make discounts seem larger than they actually were.
More than half of 1095 shoppers polled by the company noticed products rose in price before Black Friday, it found.
Black Friday, a retail tradition in the United States since the 1980s, started in Australia in the early 2000s and has surged in popularity in recent years.
