Table of Contents
Black Friday is an American tradition that has managed to cross over to Australia, despite Thanksgiving—the US holiday it’s tied to, and which falls on the fourth Thursday in November—hardly doing so. Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, is understood to be the “unofficial” start of the holiday shopping season prior to Christmas.
While the name may not make much sense for a giant retail sale, it actually dates back to the 1950s when police in Philadelphia complained about an influx of people coming to the city to shop the day after Thanksgiving, NBC News reports. They then called it a “Black Friday” because they had to control crowds, and the name has stuck ever since.
In Australia, according to marketplace Catch.com, Black Fridaybegan gaining popularity over the course of the 2010s.
Now, it’s expected to pull in a $6.36 billion spend across the four-day Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend, Australian Retailers Association chief Paul Zahra told Forbes Advisor when discussing how to save money on Christmas shopping.
Plus, Shopify research shows that while 76% of Australians have cut back on spending in recent months, 63% still intend to spend the same or even more this year compared to the last.
Here’s when Black Friday begins, the deals about, and how you can save even more money throughout the sales.
When Is Black Friday 2023? When Does Cyber Monday Start?
This year, Black Friday falls on Friday November 24. Cyber Monday starts the following week, on Monday 27.
Cyber Monday started a lot more recently than Black Friday, coming about “officially” in 2005.
“With the growth of online shopping, online-only players like Amazon were looking for a way to capitalise on Thanksgiving weekend sales,” says Katherine Cullen, vice president of industry and consumer insights of the National Retail Federation in the US explained.
“The Monday after Thanksgiving became dedicated to online sales, differentiating it from Black Friday.”
Commonly, the Cyber Monday sales are more highly targeted towards tech and online deals, hence the ‘cyber’ name; however, the sales do tend to now be catered towards any category of retail shopping.
Shopify Outage Breaks The Internet Ahead Of Black Friday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming so popular in Australia and elsewhere that Shopify experienced a worldwide outage on the morning of November 14.
Speaking with Forbes Australia, Naked Sundays founder Samantha Brett said that Shopify going down is a disaster for many small businesses.
However, she noted that it’s really great to see consumers supporting Australian-owned businesses with such dedication.
Sally Obermeder and Maha Corbett, the founders of Swiish, added that Australian brands were lucky the outage only happened in the early morning for Australian shoppers and Shopify was “back up and running in no time”.
Last year, Shopify saw 52 million global shoppers spend $7.5 billion dollars and they expect this year to be much the same.
Research from the e-commerce platform says 70% of shoppers are more likely to shop during the BFCM weekend and upcoming peak sales moments to get more bang for their buck, as they grapple with the high cost of living, in line with other statistics.
Related: Guide To Using Shopify In 2023
Are Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales Big In Australia?
Zahra told Forbes Advisor that despite an expected softening in the broader pre-Christmas spending period, the popularity of Black Friday is set to continue, giving retailers a much-needed boost to the holiday shopping season.
“[While] It really started off as an American shopping tradition, but the Black Friday sales have become a global phenomenon and millions of Aussies will undoubtedly take part this year,” Zahra said.
As mentioned earlier, initial forecasting from the ARA expects there will be a $6.36 billion spend across the four-day Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.
“That’s a 3% rise from last year, with shoppers increasingly on the hunt to find the best deals,” Zahra said. It’s also not taking into account the fact that many Black Friday sales start earlier than November 24—some have started already—and last longer than the single weekend alone.
How Long Do Black Friday Sales Last?
The length of a BFCM campaign differs from company to company, with many small Australian businesses starting their sales early in November to help customers shop early. Rachael Wilde, co-founder of York St Brands, said the team launched their campaign on November 9.
“Typically November is our highest performing month year on year due to BFCM,” Wilde said. “Most pure-play e-commerce businesses will do almost one quarter of their annual revenue in one month.”
Many brands don’t release their sales until Black Friday itself; but these then can often last until Cyber Monday and beyond (even if not cyber-related brands). For example, Australian mega-department store Myer won’t begin its official Black Friday launch until November 24, while eBay has already started.
Dyson has already started their Black Friday sales early, offering savings of up to $550 across a range of technology—which is expected to continue over the weekend to Cyber Monday as well. Meanwhile, Koala Mattress says Black Friday sales seem to be here to stay in the retail landscape, and will be taking part again this year once the official day rolls around.
Jane Lu, founder of Showpo, said any Australian brands—especially SMEs—that don’t participate in the shopping weekend is “missing out” on retaining customers and reaching new audiences as Aussies are primed for sales this time of year with Christmas right around the corner.
“Now brands have started going much earlier and the majority have started their sales already which will now run into early December,” Lu said.
Queensland Football Club founder Ken Sakata started his sales for his startup apparel brand early too, launching the Black Friday discount to his newsletter subscribers on Thursday and for everyone else on Friday 17.
“I was originally planning for the 24th, but it’s completely insane nowadays,” Sakata told Forbes Advisor Australia.
“People are going earlier and earlier to get their share of the holiday dollar.”
Tips To Save Even More Money During The Black Friday/Cyber Money Weekend
With Black Friday sales starting already, it’s time to be prepared. Forbes Advisor spoke with Showpo founder Jane Lu for some of her top tips to consumers on how to spend smart during the sale weekend:
1. Start a wishlist: Lu encourages individuals to start a wishlist, especially since Black Friday sales seem to start earlier and earlier every year.
“As an avid shopper, my hack is to start filling up your wishlist now, think of it as window shopping!,” Lu suggests.
This means once your favourite stores go on sale, it’ll make your checkout a breeze.
2. Set a budget (and stick to it): It’s easy to get excited by the sales and add everything to your wishlist, but seeing the total cost is also a good way to make sure you stay sensible and don’t go overboard, Lu says.
“[It makes] checking out come the sale period really efficient and also helps you stay focused and avoid impulsive buying,” she says.
3. Research and prepare: You can also help yourself feel more prepared to not overspend or impulse buy if you research in advance, Lu suggests. By signing up to emails, SMS lists or following brands on social media, you’ll be able to find out about the sale events and promotions in advance so you’re ready to click purchase when the time comes.
4. Be loyal: Another great suggestion from Lu is to sign up for loyalty clubs with your favourite brands, if they are on offer. You may receive early access to sales, previews of what’s to come, and even exclusive offers or bonuses.
5. Familiarise yourself with store policies: Before you make a purchase, it’s worth familarising yourself with the store’s return and refund policy, Lu suggests. This will help avoid disappointment if the item doesn’t meet your expectations.
6. Be wary of scams: Lastly, it’s important to be wary of scams this time of year as more Australians are shopping online for the holiday period. Unfortunately, over the past couple of years, Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022 according to the ACCC’s latest Targeting Scams report.
Social media was a big culprit, with Australians losing $80.2 million to scams often related to fake brand deals online. Always be sure to check that the account you are dealing with is legitimate, and purchase directly from the brand’s website when possible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are there Black Friday sales in Australia?
Yes. While Black Friday started as an American tradition back in the 1950s, it made its way over to Australia in the 2000s and has continued to grow. As of 2023, you can expect many large Australian retailers and even small local businesses to be participating in the shopping weekend.
Is Black Friday or Cyber Monday better?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been merged into one big shopping weekend. However, more and more brands are extending these sales by starting much earlier in November and taking them well into December. As for what day is better, there is no winner: it comes down to what you want to buy, from where, and what the discount on offer is.
What date is Black Friday 2023 in Australia?
Black Friday falls on November 24 this year in Australia. Cyber Monday will follow on Monday 26; however, as mentioned above, many sales are expected to start earlier (if they have not already) and continue well past the official BFCM weekend.
