Early credit card spending data from the Commonwealth Bank indicated that Australian retailers experienced an especially good Black Friday this year, with shoppers taking advantage of discounted prices.
The spending uplift seen across retail goods on Black Friday, as well as Cyber Monday, more than doubled this year in comparison with last year, with well-above average sales across the whole weekend.
“A sample of our credit card data shows that retail goods spending lifted around 87 per cent on Black Friday compared to the average spend in the three weeks prior,” said Commonwealth Bank senior economist Kristina Clifton.
By category, online spending in department stores and electronic goods retailing rose by 238 per cent compared with the average November daily spend, while in-store spending was up by 153 per cent.
“Online clothing sales rose by 146 per cent, and in-store clothing sales rose by 52 per cent. Home furnishings and equipment spending was up by 116 per cent online and 33 per cent in-store.
“Not surprisingly, food and liquor posted smaller rises than the other categories both online and in-store,” Ms Clifton added.
However, it is not all good news for the Australian economy, with the usual December uptick in sales potentially already spent.
“It’s likely that consumers brought forward some of their usual Christmas spending to November or early December to make the most of the discounts,” Ms Clifton said.
The economist also said it could be the impact of July’s tax cuts, with consumers waiting for the right time to spend their rebates.
“It may also prove the case that some consumers had been holding on to their tax rebates to spend in the Black Friday sales,” Ms Clifton concluded.
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