Sleigh your holiday season with these festive findings

The end of the year is fast approaching, but, for retailers, this is no time to slow down. November and December – known as the Golden Quarter – are a critical period for businesses hoping to end the year with a strong finish. 

Here at Afterpay, we know how important it is to prepare for the festive season, which is why we’ve commissioned research into how Aussies shopped and spent during the same period last year. This research, Festive Findings, reveals patterns, purchasing habits and key dates to help you set yourself up for a very, merry Christmas.

Christmas comes early

November is the new December, and last year Australians began spending in early November when Click Frenzy hit. (This year, Click Frenzy is late October).

From there, there were three key retail moments: 

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday (when online sales peak).
• The week before Christmas (a big moment for brick-and-mortar brands).
• Boxing Day on December 26.

As well as ensuring your processes are well and truly in place to handle these peaks, consider your marketing efforts: capturing shoppers’ details during BFCM sales will mean you can reach out or retarget them through advertising in the lead-up to Christmas.

Who’s spending?

Turns out, different generations spend at different times – and it pays to know when your demographic is primed to purchase. 

Last year, Gen Z got in early; the period before Cyber weekend was the second biggest shopping moment for young consumers. Meanwhile, Millennials are Afterpay’s most active shoppers throughout the festive season – and also shop enthusiastically during Cyber Weekend. Gen Z and Boomers are likely to leave things until later and tend to shop right throughout December. Gen Z were the biggest bargain-hunters during the Boxing Day sales – and turned out in full (festive) force.

Consider your products: do certain items appeal to a younger generation? Then they’re the ones to promote earlier. 

Will services like last-minute click and collect or free gift wrapping tempt an older audience? Could you curate a collection of gifts for grandchildren? Plan those for later in the season. 

In-store is in fashion

Pandemic-induced lockdowns are a distant memory, and brick-and-mortar shopping is back. That’s the conclusion to be taken from our Festive Findings research, which showed that in-store sales were strong throughout the festive period.

However, there were noticeable spikes in in-store shopping following Cyber Weekend and also just before Christmas. The latter is probably driven by last-minute shoppers; with only a few days to purchase presents before Christmas Day, more shoppers are likely to head in-store rather than risk late deliveries from online retailers. 

The upshot? If you’re not already offering Afterpay in-store, it’s time to get it sorted – turns out, 57% of customers say they will look elsewhere if a store didn’t offer Afterpay*.

Want more insights, including which product categories were most popular with consumers last year? Check out Afterpay’s festive findings report here.

*Source: Afterpay Economic Impact, Accenture, April 2021