SYDNEY, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- This weekend Aussies across the country are expected to crowd stores both in person and online for one of Australia's largest and most anticipated shopping holidays, Black Friday.
Data from Australia's largest commercial bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), showed that Aussies had spent more than ever over the four-day holiday in both 2019 and 2020.
Retail and consumer expert from CBA Jerry Macey said the 2021 event would likely be no different.
"The increase in sales in 2020 in comparison to 2019 bodes well for the Black Friday sales this coming weekend," he said.
With several major Australian cities only recently exiting lockdown and the Christmas season fast approaching, Aussies have been keen to take full advantage of the sales.
A survey conducted by the CBA showed that 82 percent of Aussies would try to make the most of any discounts over the weekend, and 80 percent said they would be encouraged to shop at stores offering Black Friday discounts.
In anticipation of the holiday, many large retailers have extended their opening hours and slashed up to 50 percent off a variety of consumer goods.
This month the Australia Retailers Association (ARA) projected that total sales for the weekend would reach 5.4 billion Australian dollars (about 3.9 billion U.S dollars), almost half of which is forecast to be in online sales.
Gary Starr, executive general manager of Australia Post, said Australia's national postal service was gearing up for what is expected to be a record year in online sales.
"We've set ourselves up with 30 percent more processing capacity, more planes in the air, and thousands of extra people to sort and deliver parcels," said Starr.
"We know people are keeping a close eye on the big online sales events and planning ahead for what they want to buy, so we're expecting this year to be huge," he said. Enditem