As cost-of-living pressures continue, a Monash University report finds that savvy Australian shoppers plan to make the most of Black Friday sales and shop early for Christmas.

Monash Business School’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies (ACRS) annual ‘Christmas & Seasonal retail trends report’ unwraps this year’s insights in the lead up to key sales events, including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day.

It finds that almost two-thirds of surveyed Australian shoppers (65%) plan to buy during sales events across November and December.

Report lead author and ACRS Research and Strategy Director Stephanie Atto says savings and strategy were big motivators for this year’s bargain hunters.

“Aussie shoppers are becoming increasingly savvy and are using sales events to their benefit,” she says. “The main reasons shoppers plan to buy during sales this year are to make big savings and plan ahead by purchasing gifts in advance.

“For example, around half [of those surveyed] seek to take advantage of sales promotions (59%), avoid paying full price (57%), expect significant savings (50%), and want to purchase gifts – such as Christmas presents – in advance (43%). Almost one-third also report being on a tight budget due to financial hardship (29%).”

Avoiding impulse buys and scams

Of the 35% who aren’t planning to participate, 43% are on a tight budget due to financial hardship and 50% want to avoid impulse buying. Some are wary, with 26% of those planning not to participate suspicious of misleading discounts and promotions and 11% wary of scams.

Ms Atto says even among Australians who plan to buy during end-of-year sales events, the majority are planning ahead to avoid purchasing impulsively.

“Almost all [surveyed] sales shoppers (95%) will employ various strategies when approaching sales events,” she says.

“60% research where they can purchase items they want, 53% keep a list of preferred items, 44% make a budget, and 22% actively set notifications on items they want.”

What are Aussies shopping for?

Fashion retailers continue to benefit most as almost two-thirds of surveyed sales shoppers plan to purchase clothing, footwear, and accessories at an upcoming sales event (64%).

This is followed by around a third who plan to purchase consumer electronics (38%), household goods (32%), and personal care items (31%).

Almost a quarter of respondents plan to purchase toys and games (24%), food and beverages (24%), and books and stationery (23%).

Christmas shopping

Monash University says, historically, nearly half of Australian shoppers start their Christmas shopping less than a month before Christmas (between 45 and 46% each year from 2022 to 2024), while over a third start between one and three months in advance (between 37 and 40% each year from 2022 to 2024).

However, this year there’s a shift to an earlier start.

“Australian shoppers are starting Christmas shopping earlier this year, with almost half shopping one to three months in advance (47%), aligning with key sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” says Ms Atto.

Black Friday a mainstay sales event

Ms Atto says Black Friday – 28 November this year – has become a mainstay sales event in Australia and arguably the year’s biggest sales event.

“Our research has shown steady growth of Aussie shoppers’ planned participation in Black Friday sales,” she says.

“This year, nearly half of [surveyed] sales events shoppers plan to purchase from Black Friday sales (46%), an eight percentage points increase year-on-year (38% in 2024) and a 13 percentage points increase since tracking end-of-year sales events began in 2022 (33% in 2022).

“Comparatively, just over a third of [surveyed] sales events shoppers plan to purchase from Boxing Day sales this year (35%), which has been relatively stable since tracking end-of-year sales events began (between 35 and 37% each year from 2022 to 2025).

“Not only are more shoppers planning to shop during Black Friday compared to Boxing Day, they plan to spend more during Black Friday too. Among sales events shoppers who set a budget, Black Friday budgets are $496 on average, while Boxing Day budgets are $402 on average.”