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ARTICLE

Australians ready to shop on Black Friday

Black Friday unofficially kicks off the Christmas shopping season. As the Friday after Thanksgiving, for many years it has been the biggest single shopping day of the year. Over the last decade, it has emerged in Australia as a key date in the retail calendar.

When we conducted a national survey of Australians and found that:

  • 88% of Australians said they had heard of Black Friday
  • One in two (50%) planned to check out the sales (up from two in five 40% the year prior)
  • 39% said they plan out what they want to buy in the Black Friday sales
  • Two in five (41%) agreed that they use Black Friday to kick start their festive shopping
  • Although 71% said they enjoy the in-person shopping experience, 43% said they would be doing their Black Friday/Christmas shopping online.

The speed at which Black Friday and Cyber Monday have gained traction in Australia has been remarkable. This momentum, and its position before Christmas is now rivalling Boxing Day which has traditionally been Australia’s super-sale day. Like other US-based events such as Halloween, Black Friday has been gaining traction in Australia.

Engagement with Black Friday is also being driven by younger Australians, who were more likely to have said they would planned to advantage of or at least check out the sales compared to their older counterparts (71% Gen Z and 68% Gen Y, cf. 50% Gen X, 25% Baby Boomers and 15% Builders). It is Australia’s younger generations that are the most tuned in to American cultural trends and global retail and so aware of and planning for Black Friday.

These younger consumers are also savvy online shoppers and similarly much more likely to participate in Cyber Monday sales. Over the next decade, as these emerging generations become the mainstream consumers, these sale days that emerged in the US, will likely become Australia’s biggest retail days.

Australia Towards 2031

This essential report is full of insights to help businesses and organisations explore the demographic, consumer and behavioural trends shaping the nation.