Millennials to lead the charge on Black Friday spending

If you’re looking for tips on how to make the most out of the Black Friday sales, ask a Millennial.

The Millennial generation – born between 1981 and 1996 – will spend more than any other demographic this Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Cyber Monday (Dec. 2) and have been saving their hard-earned cash specifically to splurge on these annual sales events, according to Westpac research. 

The average Australian expects to spend just over $600 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the research showed, with spending by Millennials forecast at around $675 per person. Perhaps not surprisingly, the older Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) anticipate spending the least at just under $430. 

Clothes are the most popular sales purchase (46 per cent), followed by technology (28 per cent) and homewares (21 per cent).

Over a third of Australians hold off on buying items until they are on sale, with younger Australians more likely to participate in sales and save to do so.

“Millennials are planning to spend the most of all the generations, with two in five saving up to shop the sales. This suggests retailers will be in for a busy time as more consumers open their wallets over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period,” says Mandy Rutherford, Managing Director, Cash & Transactional Banking at Westpac.

“We’re also seeing retailers come to the party, with a number of big brands already advertising early specials and deals to attract shoppers,” she adds. 

The research findings point to a potential pickup in consumer spending in the run up to Christmas, after a prolonged period of subdued activity. 

Australian households may have received an income boost from Stage 3 tax cuts and power rebates in recent months, but the evidence suggests many have opted to save most of the extra cash rather than spend it. 

Read more: Aussies are saving the bulk of their tax cut income boost

Even so, the research suggests that spending in the sales will be slightly down on last year, when Australians estimate they spent around $630.

“We’re seeing shoppers get savvy with their spending - with one in two Australians planning to shop the sales ahead of Christmas. But bargain hunters should also beware of scammers looking to capitalise on the Black Friday frenzy,” says Rutherford.

Almost 40 per cent of Australians say they have been exposed to a buying or selling scam online during festive season sales. 

"Sometimes when faced with the lure of a large discount it's hard to determine a good discount from a too good to be true discount. Plan your purchases and pause before you buy to ensure that they are within your budget and you are buying from a reputable retailer," Rutherford adds.

One way customers can shop online safely is to use the dynamic CVC feature in Westpac’s digital cards. The dynamic CVC changes every 24 hours, preventing criminals who obtain card details from making ongoing payments on the card.

Westpac’s banking app also includes a range of security features to protect customers from scams. They include Westpac Verify, which sends an alert when there is a potential account name mismatch when entering the details of a new payee, and SaferPay which asks the customer a series of questions about new payments that are detected to have a high scam risk. 

Black Friday shopping tips (brought to you by Millennials on the Wire team):

• Sign up to newsletters and follow the socials of your favourite brands at the beginning of the week, to be across sales timings and any special discount codes. Unsubscribe/unfollow the week after (after Cyber Monday) to not clog up your inbox/feed and to avoid temptation to spend after the sales period.

• Go in prepared: technically, a Black Friday sale is usually no more than 24 hours, or while stocks last. Be it a treat for yourself or Christmas gifts for your loved ones, plan your purchases and make a shopping list ahead of time, especially for pricier items like appliances, and stick to it.

• Have a budget and stick to it to avoid the post-shopping Saturday scaries.

• Early bird gets the worm: bookmark the tabs of the stuff you want, and then add to your cart on Thursday for easy checkout on Friday morning.

• Use cashback apps like ShopBack (which allows Westpac credit and debit card customers access to exclusive offers via the Westpac app and a dedicated Westpac page in the ShopBack app and website) and make sure they are activated when checking out, to take advantage of bigger cash back offers. 

• If you have time, compare prices across multiple stores to ensure you're getting the best deal.