Australians tipped to spend record levels this Black Friday and Cyber Monday | The Business

Black Friday maybe two weeks away, but the sales are here, and shoppers are keen to snap up a bargain ahead of Christmas.
Australians are forecast to spend a record $7.2 billion over the Black Friday–Cyber Monday weekend. On average, they’re expected to spurge $920 each, up $116 on last year and one in four people will use AI to try to find the best deal.

Australian Retail Council CEO Chris Rodwell says, “Australians gravitate towards Black Friday because of the lower prices and they’re also using it increasingly to stop up on Christmas gifts.”

The boss of online retailer Kogan.com, Ruslan Kogan, says consumers are spending less on going out to entertain at home. “November for most retailers, including us, is now the biggest month of year,” he said.

But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday said it is ramping up its policing efforts against misleading behaviour to also include a sweep of advertising across websites, email promotions and social media posts. Shoppers are being warned to watch out for dodgy sales tactics.
The consumer watchdog is putting retailers on notice over storewide discounts that don’t include all products, time-limited offers that go beyond the end date, false stock claims and misleading price comparisons.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said, “we do have a broad suite of powers available to us, including infringement notices all the way through to court action.”
Meanwhile, new research from Westpac and the Melbourne Institute shows that consumer sentiment has sunk to a four-year low and people are deeply pessimistic as higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures bite.
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