Australians are expected to spend a record amount online in coming days, with shopping events and the buzz of Christmas set to send smartphones into a click frenzy.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday upon us, Australia Post is predicting sales growth of 20 percent compared to the corresponding weekend last year.
Last year, the final week of November proved to be the biggest online shopping week of the year – outranking even the weeks immediately before and after Christmas.
Australia Post data showed that in 2018, the two significant shopping events recorded growth of 28.7 per cent year-on-year – indicating shoppers were ticking off their Christmas lists earlier than ever before – with almost 20 per cent of all households purchasing something online across the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.
Marketplaces dominated this event last year, accounting for a fifth of all purchases and grew 41.2% YOY in 2018, while the categories of Fashion and Major & Discount Stores were also very popular.
In a survey run by Australia Post last year, the average spend of each respondent was $232, a more than 50 per cent increase from the year before.
Australia Post General Manager Parcel and Express Services/Intermediaries Ben Franzi said it showed that Australians have embraced relatively new shopping international shopping traditions, and have done so with ease.
“Australians continue to get savvier with how they shop, so while it might still be November, we’re seeing increased parcel volumes earlier as shoppers get smarter in their hunt for a bargain,” Mr Franzi said.
“We know that customers are increasingly drawn to the convenience and experience of online shopping – and in the lead up to Christmas, there are plenty of bargains to find.”
NORA Founder and Executive Chair Paul Greenberg said that retailers have well and truly embraced the sales events.
“Much like Australians have, our retailers have similarly embraced the international phenomenon of ‘holiday’ sales, and knowing modern shoppers can prefer online shopping, they are offering fantastic deals and delivering a great online experience for their customers heading into Christmas,” he said.
With a record volume of parcels set to hit people’s letterboxes, Australia Post is ready for the busy period, with new facilities and automation coming online across the network.
Last year Australia Post delivered over 40 million parcels in December, and on two occasions delivered more than 3 million parcels in a day.
This year, volumes are already greater than they were at the same time last year – with the period around Mother’s Day already the biggest since Christmas.
Over the peak period Australia Post expects to deliver up to 3.5 million parcels on its busiest day, facilitated by a national $900 million, three-year investment in infrastructure and automation.
