Retailers say Black Friday has gotten off to a strong start, with Australians tipped to spend a record amount as they seek savings during the cost-of-living crisis.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has predicted shoppers will spend $6.36bn across the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 3% from last year, according to their research in partnership with Roy Morgan.
The association estimated this would account for more than a quarter of all holiday purchases this year, as price-conscious shoppers use the sales period to find deals ahead of the festive season.
Paul Zahra, the ARA’s chief executive, said the four-day sale would be “more significant than ever before” given the cost-of-living crisis.
“Despite a lukewarm spending projection for the pre-Christmas period, Black Friday this year is set to be record-breaking, as consumers seek out bargains amid intense financial pressure.”
The National Retail Association similarly predicted shoppers would spend $6.28bn over the four days – about 10% of the estimated total festive season spending.
The association has predicted the east coast states would generate more than $1bn each – New South Wales almost $2bn ($1.99bn), Victoria $1.63bn and Queensland $1.28bn. Western Australia is predicted to spend $692m, South Australia $400m, Tasmania $124m, the ACT $115m and the Northern Territory $51m.
Rob Godwin, the NRA director, said online sales on Friday were already up between 10% and 25% on the previous year, with members also reporting strong foot traffic.
Godwin said Black Friday had become the biggest sales event on the retail calendar. For consumers, it was the biggest discount period of year, becoming even bigger than Boxing Day.
More than 40% of retailers this year began their Black Friday promotions at least one to two weeks early, he said.
A Finder survey of 1,063 people showed that up to 9.3 million Australians have already taken part or plan to shop at the sales.
Myer’s outgoing chief executive, John King, told the AFR he predicted Black Friday trading to beat Christmas this year.
The NRA said consumer confidence had increased slightly before it was knocked back by the latest interest rate hike.
Research from Westpac earlier this month found 74% of Australians were planning a smaller Christmas and 72% said they would be cutting back on holiday spending.
Westpac also found 74% would be actively seeking bargains and looking for coupons, deals and cashback offers to help stretch their money further.
