The dust has settled, the carts have cleared, and the warehouse teams are finally catching their breath.
Australia’s two biggest retail moments, Black Friday and Boxing Day, have wrapped up for another year. How did they perform in 2025?
Whether you run an online store, a service-based business with seasonal offers, or you’re simply curious about the retail landscape, this breakdown will give you guidance on how to compare.
Let’s dig into what happened, what the numbers say, and what other business owners did last year to make the most of this peak time.
Australian shoppers came ready to spend this peak season, but where and when they spent shifted noticeably.
Black Friday (28 November 2025) continued to dominate as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.
What was once an American import has now become Australia’s largest online shopping day, with retail data from Afterpay & Square suggesting strong year-on-year growth.
Black Friday often goes to Cyber Monday (1 December 2025).
Boxing Day (26 December 2025) saw softer growth than in previous years. Many shoppers had already snapped up deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, leaving less appetite (and budget) for post-Christmas bargains.
Boxing Day sales typically run until 31 December 2025.
The trend? Australians are planning earlier and hunting for value harder. Black Friday is increasingly where they’re placing their money.
According to the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Royal Morgan, Australians were expected to spend an estimated $6.7 billion across the Black Friday weekend (Friday to Cyber Monday), marking a 4% increase on 2024 figures.
Square reported that sales were more localised in Sydney suburbs, whereas Melbourne saw higher transaction volume in its main CBD.
Overall:
Key sales by location:
| Location | Sales over Black Friday weekend | Average transaction size |
| Sydney, NSW | $38.1 million | $39.66 |
| Melbourne, VIC | $30.8 million | $36.72 |
| Brisbane, QLD | $44.1 million | $47.00 |
| Gold Coast, QLD | $27.9 million | $58.75 |
| Adelaide, SA | $4.1 million | $33.78 |
| Perth, WA | $2.49 million | $38.19 |
Figures adjusted for AUD based on the USD exchange rate of 1 USD = 1.47 AUD.
Afterpay, with its buy now, pay later method, attracted the most Gen Z and Millennials, accounting for 71% of all Afterpay transactions. And its usage was up 18% YoY.
Commonwealth Bank reported that $23.8 billion was spent in 2025. Up 4.6% based on their data year on year. This data includes more sectors than retail. It indicates that consumers are also seeking travel and experience bargains, not just physical goods.
Online sales accounted for approximately 33.7% of total Black Friday transactions, up 9.3%, whilst in-store sales rose only 2.3%.
Key movements:
Whilst those aged 70 and up spent more than 8.5% last year, it was the 30-49-year-olds who remained the biggest spenders, contributing $9.5 billion.
Boxing Day remained a major retail event, but its forecast reflects Black Friday getting most attention.
This is despite experts saying the true bargains are on Boxing Day, when retailers want to cull excess stock.
What used to attract early-morning queues at department stores has seen less consumer interest, especially as more people buy online.
The ARA forecast $1.6 billion in Boxing Day sales, up 4.3% YoY.
And for the full post-Christmas period (25-31 December), it would be $3.83 billion. Up 4.4% YoY.
We spoke to three Australian retailers about their peak-season experiences. Here’s what they had to say:
“We treated Black Friday and Cyber Monday as a long, intentional campaign, not a few frantic days.
The strategy was to get real, high-intent shoppers onto the site early, building wishlists and full carts well before Black Friday hit.
We ran a lead-in competition and then rotated value-added offers (gifts, vouchers, shipping) rather than relying solely on deeper discounts. This kept momentum high across November while protecting margins.
The result was a very planned buying environment, customers knew what they wanted, had been watching pieces, and were ready to purchase when the offer went live.
We saw 25% higher sales than on Boxing Day, with average order value up 16% and stronger conversion rates.
Boxing Day, by contrast, was much more emotional and reactive. The strategy shifted to clearing end-of-line stock and encouraging add-on purchases through a Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) offer, alongside a traditional sale collection.
We see BFCM shoppers as planners, intentional, higher-value buyers who wait specifically for that moment, whereas Boxing Day shoppers are more opportunistic, driven by clearance and price-led decisions.
Both periods are important, but they serve very different commercial and emotional purposes in the calendar.”
“Black Friday & Boxing Day sales were our biggest ever in terms of traffic & revenue.
Black Friday revenue was 19% up on last year, and Boxing Day revenue was up 10%.
However, we had to revise our November offers to provide a larger discount than originally planned to compete with other retailers & marketplaces that were heavily discounting and with customers shopping for the lowest price.
Our average order value also dropped slightly, while sales of our smaller items increased, suggesting that cost-of-living pressures may be prompting consumers to purchase smaller items and more budget-focused brands.
Black Friday sales were significantly higher in terms of traffic, revenue and conversion than Boxing Day, but as many of our customers purchase products for their children as Christmas gifts, this was inline with expectations.”
“In 2025, we saw ‘Black Friday’ evolve from a single day into a month-long event, with retailers launching aggressive discounts as early as November 1st.
In contrast, Boxing Day remained largely concentrated as a 24-hour flash event.
Because of this extended ‘tenure,’ the November period significantly outperformed Boxing Day in total volume.
Along with the End of Financial Year (EOFY), the November/December window solidified its position as the highest revenue period for Australian retail this year.”
To put 2025 in context, let’s look at how past years went by using available Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
Estimated monthly retail turnover with YoY seasonal trend change %:
| Year | November Retail Turnover (mil) | December Retail Turnover (mil) | Notable Trend |
| 2019 | 27,908.2 +2.92% | 27,765.4 +2.81% | Pandemic impacts performance. |
| 2020 | 31,654.1 +13.3% | 30,368.8 +9.6% | Post-pandemic recovery continues. |
| 2021 | 33,411.5 +5.8% | 31,926.3 +4.8% | Post pandemic recovery continues. |
| 2022 | 35,918.1 +7.7% | 34,472.3 +7.5% | Softer growth with the cost of living. |
| 2023 | 36,511.8 +2.2% | 35,187.2 +0.8% | Slight improvement in the economy. |
| 2024 | 37,052.7 +3% | 36,991.5 +4.6% | Slight improvement in economy. |
In June 2025, the ABS ceased publishing retail turnover data.
To compare spending, we could use household spending data to gauge performance.
However, when reviewing this data source, it proved not useful, as it painted a completely different picture of November vs. December due to its breadth.
It’s disappointing that the ABS no longer provide retail turnover estimates.
The pattern is clear when you look at retailers’ comments and how retail turnover data has been in past: Black Friday has become Australia’s peak retail moment, while Boxing Day is gradually shifting from a sales bonanza to more of a brand experience and clearance opportunity.
A few factors are influencing this change:
Shoppers now expect Black Friday deals to drop early, sometimes weeks ahead. By the time Boxing Day arrives, the “hunt” is over for many.
Services like Afterpay make it easier for shoppers to commit during Black Friday, even before payday or the arrival of Christmas cash.
Many Australians receive gift cards for Christmas, but increasingly they’re using them before Boxing Day (e.g., online shopping on Christmas night) rather than waiting for in-store sales.
Black Friday’s roots in the US mean heavy marketing investment from international brands and platforms, which amplifies its presence in Australia.
Boxing Day, unique to Commonwealth countries, doesn’t get the same global push. It started in Great Britain, likely when employers gave workers leftovers and gifts from their Christmas celebrations.
We’ve pulled together anonymised, aggregated data from our Google Analytics 4 (GA4) clients across eCommerce and retail to show how Black Friday and Boxing Day compared in 2025.
Looking at the data, the average order value was higher on Boxing Day, but the cart-to-view and purchase rates were stronger on Black Friday.
For the full sale period, Black Friday was the winner.
| Metric | Black Friday | Boxing Day |
| Cart to view rate | 17.52% | 15.37% |
| Purchase rate | 7.29% | 5.95% |
| Average purchase revenue (Average order value) | $162.82 | $176.71 |
| Metric | Black Friday Weekend (28 November to 1 December) | Boxing Day Weekend (26 December to 31 December) |
| Cart to view rate | 13.03% | 12.13% |
| Purchase rate | 7.22% | 5.60% |
| Average purchase revenue (Average order value) | $167.08 | $162.10 |
You can sign up for our quarterly Australia GA4 benchmarks to monitor performance.
The data above for Black Friday vs. Boxing Day is based on a sample of 28 active Australian eCommerce websites.
Here’s the takeaway for small and medium business owners heading into 2026:
Don’t wait until late November. Tease offers, build your email list, and warm up your audience from early October onwards.
It doesn’t have to be your biggest sales day. Consider using it for clearance, loyalty rewards, or in-store experiences that deepen customer relationships.
Use GA4 to understand where your traffic comes from, how people behave on your site, and which channels actually convert. If AI-referred traffic is growing, make sure you’re tracking it separately so you can spot trends early.
Every peak season teaches you something. Review your data, listen to customer feedback, and adjust your approach. What worked in 2025 might need tweaking for 2026.
Black Friday and Boxing Day aren’t going anywhere, but their roles are evolving.
For Australian businesses, the smartest play is to meet customers where they are: plan early, shop online, and expect value without the fluff.
If you’d like help setting up better tracking in GA4 to capture peak season insights (including AI-referred traffic), check out our packages.
