Millicent Spencer
Shoppers in Hume flocked to Broadmeadows Central over the Black Friday sales, contributing to a nearly a two per cent rise in retail last November.
New data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed the Black Friday sales contributed to the 1.7 per cent rise in retail turnover last November across Victoria.
Vicinity regional general manager of shopping centres John Nadaline said there was a significant increase in customer traffic and spend at Broadmeadows Central on Black Friday.
“Our data suggests that Broadmeadows Central consumers are thinking about and shopping for Christmas earlier and earlier each year, and retailers are responding with promotions and offers to capture customers’ early spending,” he said.
“We anticipate the popularity of the annual sale to continue to grow each year.”
ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said the rise in turnover was driven by Black Friday sales, which boosted spending on clothing, footwear, furniture, and electronic goods.
“While we typically see a rise in spending around Black Friday sales, the strong seasonally adjusted rise in November 2022 shows that the effect is increasing over time, as the event has become more common across retailers and sales periods become longer,” he said.
“Given the increasing popularity of Black Friday sales, the smaller increase in October may reflect consumers waiting to take advantage of discounting in November, particularly in light of cost-of-living pressures.”
