November was the biggest month in Australian online shopping history thanks to extended Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales according to Australia Post, which delivered more than 21 million parcels across the event period.
Online shopping in November beat last year’s record by more than 13 per cent and, demonstrating the impact COVID-19 has had on the retail space, was up 76 per cent on November 2019.
Australia Post says it delivered more than 2.3 million parcels every weekday from 22 November to 2 December, with around 800,000 delivered over the Black Friday weekend itself.
Australia Post general manager, parcel & express services Ben Franzi said extended pre-Black Friday sales had completely transformed this year’s event, and Australians once again had taken advantage of the period.
“With many cyber sales starting sooner than last year people have been able to snap up online deals for longer than just those traditional four big days from Black Friday,” Franzi said.
“We’re working hard in what’s still a challenging environment, with our delivery teams managing to get almost a million parcels a day to front doors across NSW alone on December 1 and December 2, and we’ve got our delivery people and processing around the country working around the clock, as we head into a busy Christmas.”
This year, the sales started earlier and lasted longer, giving shoppers an opportunity to grab Christmas presents and stock up on clothing, shoes, accessories, pet products and items for the home and garden.
Almost one in four purchases were from a fashion and apparel specialty retailer, while pet products and tools and garden, footwear, and fashion accessories were all in hot demand according to the national deliveries service.
More than 36 per cent of all purchases during the sales were made by people in New South Wales, with total purchases in the state rising by 17 per cent compared to 2020.
Australia Post moved 15 per cent more air freight across the Cyber Weekend than last year, with 444 tonnes of parcels transported via 21 dedicated planes on the busiest day, Cyber Monday, which was also the biggest day for parcels entering the network with more than 2.8 million lodged.
WHAT PEOPLE BOUGHT
Top 5 categories by growth, YOY
• Pet Products - 21.8 per cent
• Tools and Garden - 21.1 per cent
• Footwear - 17.8 per cent
• Fashion Accessories - 12.4 per cent
• Beauty - 10.9 per cent
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