Black Friday boosts traffic online and instore

Black Friday boosted traffic online and in stores and the growth has continued into December, but may lead to soft clearance sales on Boxing Day and in January.

According to analysis by Citigroup, online traffic for major Australian retailers rose about 30 per cent to 40 per cent during the Black Friday sales event. Growth was even stronger at retailers such as Super Retail Group's Macpac (up 121 per cent), Premier Investments' Peter Alexander (93 per cent) Dotti (84 per cent ) and Portmans brands (80 per cent) and Myer (up 61 per cent).

Parcel growth over the week rose 34 per cent, according to Australia Post data, suggesting that conversion rates were high and shoppers weren't just going online to check prices.

Black Friday also boosted foot traffic in stores and shopping centres as more bricks and mortar retailers and landlords embraced what was originally an online shopping event in Australia.

According to ShopperTrak data, foot traffic in shopping centres and stand alone stores rose almost 20 per cent during the Black Friday week after falling 20 per cent in the previous week.

Shopping Centre Council of Australia figures show foot traffic rose 14 per cent on Black Friday year-on-year and by 9.1 per cent over the Black Friday weekend, boosting total foot traffic for November by 1.2 per cent year on year.

"When compared with 2018, it is clear that not only was Black Friday 2019 a roaring success, but the entire month of November 2019 was popular when compared with 2018, with consumers clearly voting with their feet," said SCCA executive director Angus Nardi.

Citigroup's head of research Craig Woolford said double-digit growth in online traffic had continued into early December, alleviating fears of another post-Black Friday slump.

Mr Woolford believes the pick-up in traffic could deliver a 'decent' Christmas for many retailers, boosting same-store sales by between 0.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent for the year.

While prices were falling, suppliers said consumers were trading up and buying sufficient volumes to offset price deflation.

"Black Friday week is now a similar size to Boxing Day and could represent one-fifth of Christmas shopping," Mr Woolford said.

"Web traffic would need to fall by 6 to 15 per cent in order for the entire Christmas selling season to be flat in 2019 on 2018. This type of fall seems large and therefore leaves us feeling optimistic about a better Christmas," he said.

Total visits during Black Friday Week 2019 (% YoY)

EB GamesBeacon LightingNick ScaliEbayJay JaysJust JeansBunningsDavid JonesOfficeworksThe Good GuysKoganSuper Cheap AutoPlatypusjacqui ESmiggle UKHype DCJB Hi-FiBig WKmartBCFAppliances OnlineCity ChictargetRebelHarvey NormanSmiggle AUMichael HillMyerAmazon AUPortmansDottiPeter AlexanderMacpac-20020406080100120140-6-50+1+3+6+13+22+22+23+23+24+24+28+29+31+34+34+35+38+40+42+42+44+44+46+57+61+70+80+84+93+121

SOURCE: CITIGROUP

However, Citigroup fears shoppers will have done their dash by Boxing Day, leading to soft sales during the post-Christmas clearance period in January.

The surge in web traffic may not necessarily lead to a commensurate lift in sales. For example, Myer's web traffic rose 61 per cent on Black Friday (compared with 22 per cent at David Jones and 34 per cent at Big W and Kmart) but Myer had to cancel some online orders because it "over committed" and did not have sufficient stock to meet demand at the advertised price.