Despite inflation at a 30-year high, shoppers are flocking to the shops, expecting to add $200 million to the $6 billion spent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales last year. 

This comes with an expected average spend of $375 per person over the popular shopping period. 

Brought over from the US by companies like Amazon and Apple, Black Friday originated in the 1950s when factory workers would call in sick on the day after Thanksgiving, so they could have a four-day weekend.

While Amazon workers in Germany and France protested on Black Friday with the Make Amazon Pay initiative, this hasn’t put a dampener on retail sales in Australia. 

Although initial CommBank data monitoring consumer debit and credit card activity on Black Friday suggests spending is ‘on par’ with previous years, Australians are still spending in big numbers. 

In fact, Australia ranked 4th globally for spending on Black Friday sales, below the US, the UK and Canada. Shopify data (from 100,000 Australian Shopify merchants) revealed that Australia made almost $5 billion in global sales for Black Friday, which is a 17% increase from the same period in 2021. 

Estimates even show Black Friday is fast becoming more popular for shoppers than the Boxing Day sales. 

According to data from Finder, 32% of consumers were expected to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared to 30% on Boxing Day. 

CommBank’s Stephen Wu believes this boost in sales on Black Friday is reflective of consumers bringing forward their Christmas shopping to take advantage of sales over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. 

“Indeed, since 2019 we have seen December retail sales growth print with a negative in seasonally adjusted terms,” he said. 

Some experts are predicting this strong consumer spending won’t tail off at all.

Paul Zahra from the Australian Retailers Association stated that this growth in spending is set to continue right up until Christmas.

“We are projecting that for Christmas, Australians will spend around $64 billion, which is 3% up on last year.” 

Indeed, the psychology behind Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales is another factor to consider, albeit harder to measure. Factors such as a fear of missing out, scarcity and an inherent dopamine rush, all undoubtedly contribute to a consumer’s spending patterns, especially around sales. 

Big companies know how to market to exploit all of these factors, which is especially lucrative in their bottom line in the lead-up to Christmas.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Sources: 

• ABC news, Why Black Friday sales could spring a suprise
• ABC news, Amazon workers in France and Germany strike as part of Make Amazon Pay initiative
• Savings.com.au, Has the Black Friday spending hype taken a backseat this year?
• Smart Company, Melbourne shoppers led the nation as Aussie Black Friday sales hit nearly $5 billion
• Loyalty Lion, 2. Dopamine rush