Perth shoppers set aside cost of living concerns to shop Black Friday frenzy
Black Friday shoppers put aside cost-of-living concerns to snap up deals, especially on big-ticket items, during what experts say has become the biggest sales event of the year.
Bargain hunters came out in droves on the first official day of sales and roads around major shopping centers such as Karrinyup and Carousel in Cannington were clogged.
Nearly six million Australians are expected to spend around $7 billion over the four days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The Australian Retailers Association predicts Western Australians will give away $800 million in the next few days, up 5.5 per cent on last year.
Australian National University marketing lecturer Andrew Hughes said shoppers were saving “really hard” ahead of Black Friday to take advantage of pre-Christmas sales.
“Black Friday is the best deal day of the year, better than Boxing Day,” he said.
Even though consumer prices rose 3.8 percent nationwide through October — the worst inflation surge in more than a year — Dr. Hughes thinks shoppers will “absolutely” put cost-of-living pressures aside over the weekend.
Technology, as well as big-ticket items such as TVs, washing machines and refrigerators, will be in particularly high demand.
“Right now they’re buying big ticket items, taking a couple of weeks off and then getting ready for (Christmas Day) which is food and drink,” Dr Hughes said.
Suzy Varley was mostly shopping for Christmas gifts for her husband, son and parents and spent nearly $900 at Karrinyup Mall on Friday.
“I bought myself a few small pieces because the sales were so good,” she said, adding that she saved for most of the year knowing she would spend big during Black Friday.
Ms Varley said the shopping area was “absolutely jam-packed, I was being followed out of the car park”.
Jacintha Fraser-Gillard shopped for 50 percent off clothes, as well as deeply discounted candles and makeup brushes.
While she managed to tick some Christmas gifts off her list, most of her purchases were for herself.
Karrinyup center general manager Trudy Cook expects this to be one of the region’s biggest Black Fridays this year, with tens of thousands of people expected to come through the doors over the next four days.
