Expert answer / 27
Best Black Friday Sales Strategy in Australia for 2026
Short answer
Treat Black Friday as the high point of a campaign that starts in October, not as a one-weekend sprint. Lead with one clear offer, protect your margin and give customers a reason to come back in December. Black Friday is 27 November 2026; Cyber Monday is 30 November.
What does the Black Friday strategy involve?
Build demand before advertising costs rise, reward existing customers with early access, and give shoppers a clear offer across the weekend. The aim is to lift average order value and protect margin—not just sell as much as possible for a few days.
- Start building demand in October.
- Give existing customers early access the week before.
- Launch one high-value offer on Black Friday.
- Give people a fresh reason to buy on Cyber Monday.
- Follow up in December to encourage repeat orders.
Why can this outperform heavy discounting?
Australian shoppers plan to spend around $346 over the BFCM period, up from $324, but they’re still selective. In the 2025 Black Friday fortnight, Australians spent $23.8 billion, with online sales up 9.3% to $8 billion.
- People compare prices and often wait for the product they want instead of buying the cheapest option.
- A sitewide discount can require much higher sales volume just to protect profit.
- Repeated deep discounts can make customers wait for the next sale instead of paying full price.
- Email and SMS can keep working when paid advertising gets more expensive.
How do I run the campaign?
- Build your list and run lighter paid activity in October, before auction costs rise.
- Choose one headline offer. Bundles or tiered spend-and-save offers can protect margin better than a flat discount; check the numbers first.
- Give existing customers early access the week before the public sale.
- On 27 November, launch the main offer with a sequenced email series, Meta ads for known audiences and Google Shopping for high-intent searches.
- On Cyber Monday, use a new creative and a real deadline instead of repeating Friday’s offer unchanged.
- After the weekend, ask for reviews, encourage loyalty sign-ups and prompt a second order.
Factors to consider by type of business
- Online and ecommerce
- Prioritise list growth, accurate tracking, mobile checkout and cart recovery.
- Physical and omnichannel retailers
- Keep online and in-store prices aligned, promote click-and-collect and make the store visit feel worthwhile for regulars.
- Hospitality
- Gift cards or future bookings may work better than discounting service periods that are already busy.
- Local services and trades
- Package seasonal jobs with a limited number of booking slots instead of cutting your rates.
- Professional services and B2B
- Offer a review or planning session to bring work forward, rather than relying on a price cut.
Other considerations that affect results
- Advertising claims
- Keep every claim accurate. The ACCC has scrutinised misleading “sitewide” wording, fake urgency and inflated “was” prices. Use genuine prior prices and real deadlines.
- AI discovery
- More shoppers use AI tools to compare deals. Make product information clear and explain what makes your offer worthwhile.
- Operations
- Stress-test your site, stock and fulfilment capacity in advance. A breakdown can cost more than choosing a less aggressive offer.
- Measurement
- Compare revenue, margin and customer mix with last year’s results, not just clicks or sales volume.
Sources: ACCC, Black Friday sales advertising · CommBank iQ, 2025 Black Friday spending · Shopify 2026 shopper spending forecast, via Ecommerce News Australia