Data from Australia Post has confirmed trends felt by many retailers over the Christmas period, with burgeoning online sale events Black Friday and Cyber Monday growing at an unprecedented pace.

The Cyber Week events grew 31.6 per cent year over year and merged with the traditional holiday peak period, bringing Christmas purchases forward. Additionally, the sales events increasingly dictate when consumers will spend, with Cyber Week spending 77 per cent higher than the first week of November. 

Online spend in the two weeks to Christmas was 18 per cent higher than previous years, though it was eclipsed by the start of the December which had the highest volume of sales for the entire year. 

And according to the Australia Post e-commerce update 2019 the timing of 2020’s Black Friday event is likely to lead to even greater growth, falling on the 27th of November.

The update also found online purchases more broadly grew 17.6 per cent year on year, with shoppers increasingly utilising alternative delivery options. 

While deliveries to post offices and parcel lockers grew 32.2 per cent, home delivery remained the most popular – accounting for 80 per cent of total deliveries. 

Purchases in clothing and apparel accounted for 59 per cent of next day deliveries, which as a delivery method grew 21 per cent year on year. 

Victorians led the way online in 2019, with a 19.9 per cent increase in online spending year over year, followed by 16.9 per cent growth in South Australia. Despite this New South Wales still accounted for a third of all online deliveries, even with below average year on year growth of 16.5 per cent. 

Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.