China’s Singles Day online shopping event has come and gone, turning over the GDP of a small European nation, Click Frenzy more or less managed to happen — now it’s up to the Americans and Brits to “show me what you got”.
November 24 marks Black Friday, named after the blackness of our collective souls, the global shopping phenomenon which grew out of the US tradition of going to the shops to beat the s**t out of strangers to release pent up stress from spending Thanksgiving with your relatives.
Together with its younger sibling Cyber Monday, the online shopping extravaganza saw shoppers spend nearly $US8.4 billion last year. In recent years, retailers in the UK and Australia have increasingly gotten on board.
In theory, Black Friday should start at 4pm AEDT on Friday, or midnight US time, but many retailers such as Amazon, Macy’s and JCPenney now offer deals all week. Australian retailers, anxious not to lose too much business overseas, are also offering some pretty good deals already.
If the overseas retailer doesn’t ship to Australia, you can sign up for Australia Post’s ShopMate parcel forwarding service. According to a survey by comparison website Finder.com.au, around one in five Australians are planning to hit the Black Friday sales this year.
“The severe price cuts that come with Black Friday have been known to send bargain hunters into chaotic shopping brawls overseas,” said Finder.com.au money expert Bessie Hassan.