The biggest online shopping month is here and small businesses are making the most of what they hope will be the busiest November cyber sales frenzy yet, as inflationary pressures drive Australians to tick off their Christmas wishlists early.
Savvy shoppers are already snapping up bargains in the lead-up to the festive season, with more than 40% of customers already shopping for Christmas presents.
The shopping madness kicked off this week with Click Frenzy (8-10 November), which will be followed by Singles Day (11 November), Black Friday (25 November) and Cyber Monday (28 November).
Two of the biggest dates on the Australian shopping calendar, Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw 4.67 million households shopping online during the period last year.
Brisbane small business owner Claire Batchelor, who owns The Latte Jar, which creates glassware with hand-drawn designs, says November has started with a bang already for her online business.
“It’s definitely gearing up to be my busiest month this year. Christmas is in the air,” she said.
“People know November to be the month of big sales and as a small business, it’s really important to be a part of that. People are looking for gifts as well as a good deal and it’s prime time to utilise that.
“November is the best time to get your shopping done. There are so many amazing deals and it gives us enough time to have your orders to your door by Christmas Day.”
Figures released by Australia Post have revealed that last year’s record November topped November 2020’s numbers by 13.6%, with pet products, tools, gardening equipment, footwear, fashion accessories and beauty the most popular purchases.
Australia Post is forecasting a 3% year-on-year growth for online purchases in the five weeks leading up to Christmas.
The Australian postal service has ramped up its efforts in time for the November sales, adding more capacity across its workforce, more planes and more posties.
Australia Post executive general manager customer and commercial Gary Starr says the November cyber sales month was a perfect opportunity for Australians to plan and make the most of the online deals available so that they can get their presents delivered in time for Christmas.
“These sales are the peak online shopping events of the year and we’re expecting to see the biggest November ever with millions of Australians bagging a bargain ahead of Christmas,” he said.
“To ensure we get deliveries to people’s doors as quickly as possible we’ve been busy recruiting up to 6,000 new team members to help sort and deliver parcels, including weekends and twilight deliveries where they’re most needed.
“It’s a busy time of year so we’d encourage everyone to get organised and get their parcels in the post ahead of the Christmas rush.”
Last year Australia Post delivered more than 21 million parcels across the cyber sales event period with the extended Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, making November 2021 the biggest month in Australian online shopping history.
