Australians Ready to Take Advantage of Black Friday

By: McCrindle

Black Friday (Friday 26th November 2021) unofficially kicks off the Christmas shopping season. In the US, it is the day after Thanksgiving, and 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.

Previous research conducted by McCrindle in 2017 stated that 27% of Australian’s had never heard of the Black Friday Sales. Just four years later, this proportion is now at only 2%, with majority of Australia’s population (98%) aware of Black Friday sales.

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One in two Aussies plan on taking advantage of the sales

One in two Australians (50%) have heard of the Black Friday sales and plan to take advantage of them, or at least check them out. This is up from two in five (40%) Australians just 12 months earlier. More than a third of Australians (39%) are already planning what they want to buy in the Black Friday sales, and two in five Australians (41%) agree they use Black Friday to kick start their festive shopping.

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In the aftermath of recent COVID-19 lockdown related restrictions, popularity for the in-person shopping experience is high with seven in ten Australians agreeing (71%) that they enjoy the in-person shopping experience. Two in five (43%) say they will be doing their Black Friday/Christmas shopping online this year.

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“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. This year, the Black Friday weekend is coinciding with Australians emerging from COVID-19 restrictions and shoppers seeking an in-person experience. Many are ready for some post-lockdown revenge spending, which will likely bring some cheer for retailers.”– Mark McCrindle, Social Researcher

Younger Australians are leading the Black Friday charge

The sale is gaining traction particularly for younger Australian’s as they are significantly more likely to take 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).

Younger Australians are more likely to be gearing up for the sales event with more than half of Gen Z (66%) and Gen Y (55%) already planning what they want to buy, compared to a third of Gen X (36%) and just 13% of Baby Boomers and Builders (6%).

Cyber Monday is part of the package

Making up the Black Friday weekend, the four-day period is bookended with an additional sale day known as Cyber Monday. The day is designed to focus the shopping efforts to the online space. Although not as well-known as Black Friday, four in five Australians (82%) have heard of Cyber Monday and 37% plan to take advantage of or at least check out the online sales.

Younger generations are more likely to take advantage of Cyber Monday or at least check out the sales, compared to their older counterparts (51% Gen Z and 52% Gen Y cf. 36% Gen X, 20% Baby Boomers and 14% 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.” – Mark McCrindle, Social Researcher

Article supplied with thanks to McCrindle.

About the Author: McCrindle are a team of researchers and communications specialists who discover insights, and tell the story of Australians – what we do, and who we are.

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Feature image: Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash