Geraldton retailers say Black Friday sales now bigger than Boxing Day

What started out as an American gimmick has become Australia’s most hyped sales event.

And Geraldton retailers say Black Friday sales have grown to the stage where they are a bigger deal than Boxing Day.

They said savings on Black Friday were similar to those on Boxing Day, but shoppers were preferring to get in early before Christmas.

Mitchell and Brown Retravision managing director Steve Nanninga said the Black Friday sales had picked up serious pace over the past five years.

“You get a bit of a burst on Boxing Day and it seems to die out, whereas Black Friday just seems to keep going,” he said.

“My feeling is it will turn into a week-long thing.

“A lot of it is driven by suppliers as much as the retailers.”

Batavia Furniture and Bedding manager Mark Sinclair said his store had already transitioned to a week-long sale, with shoppers now waiting for Black Friday to make their big purchases for the year.

But he said finding enough stock was the greatest challenge facing retailers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed huge pressure on supply chains and trade channels, meaning the cost of sea freight has shot up over the past year.

“It can take 50 days to ship in a lounge,” Mr Sinclair said.

“There’s no guarantee when these containers are arriving.

“That is going to hinder us this year — we are buying as much as we can. You end up ordering 10 of a product instead of two.”

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Mr Nanninga is having similar problems. Mitchell and Brown Retravision recently bought the old Rollerdrome site at 15 Simpson Street so it could buy up more stock.

He said Apple products, especially, were difficulty to source.

“It has definitely been a hassle the last 12 months,” he said.

“We’ve got double the stock we would normally have — hence why we have invested in some extra storage space.

“Some suppliers are saying they’ve got no stock till January, February, March next year.

“We’ve tried to be on the front foot and hold more than normal.”