National Australia Bank : Black Friday and Cyber Monday hit an all-time high

Australians spent more than an estimated $8 billion across the four days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday according to NAB analysis of merchant transactions.

In a clear boost for Australian businesses, the promotional holiday beat pre-pandemic records from 2019 with sales up by 8%.

The strongest performers in the period for in-person purchases were technology retailers with sales up by 168% on 2019. Shoe store sales were up by 92% for the same period while jewellery stores were up by 49% and clothing sales were up 54%.

The strongest performer in the period for online retailers was jewellery and watch stores with sales up by 312% on 2019.

Andrew Irvine, Group Executive for NAB's Business and Private Bank said; "Business is absolutely up and running again - it was great to see people out and about making the most of bargains as well as spending big online."

"It may be a trend adopted from our American friends, but it's clear that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now a strong part of the sales calendar here in Australia. For business, it's a great opportunity try out new initiatives before the holiday season, reach out to online customer bases and kick off the lead up to Christmas with strong cashflow," he said.

"We've talked so much about the pivot to digital but it's clear that the ground work laid by businesses over the past two years has positioned them well to capitalise on these sales events. For so many of us though, nothing beats the actual experience of walking into a store and being able to try out the product in person."

Nick Sims, Co-Founder of The Card Network and NAB customer said: "We tried Black Friday for the first time last year and were so impressed by how it performed for us that we've cemented it into our annual calendar. Sales definitely picked up again for us this year and it's been key to creating strong momentum for our business in the lead up to Christmas as well as increasing our brand awareness."

Victoria led the way when it came to sales with an estimated $190 million spent followed by New South Wales at $163 million and Queensland at 73 million.