The Boxing Day sales - once the biggest shopping event of the year - have become part of an extended end-of-year sales period running from October to late January.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Boxing Day hasn't disappeared, but it's no longer the headline event it once was, says Rob Hango-Zada, founder and joint CEO of retail shipping software firm Shippit.
"We're now seeing a much longer sales period rather than a short spike," he said.
"Amazon, Myer, David Jones and Target kicked off their peak activity in early October, and on average retailers began their discounts 13 days before Black Friday.
"That is having an effect on Boxing Day, with our data showing that online order volumes have become between 2.5 and 4 times higher during the average day on the Black Friday weekend compared to Boxing Day."
He said their data suggests that sentiment is still strong, and online will continue to emerge as a preferred channel for retail purchasing.
For example, Gen Z, who are growing as a proportion of the consumer workforce, shop online almost twice as much as other demographics.
The way shoppers are approaching Boxing Day has also changed - at least in the current economic climate.
Brendan Straw, Australia regional manager for online catalogue comparison service ShopFully, said research they recently conducted in conjunction with YouGov revealed a majority of shoppers intend to use the Boxing Day sales to bulk-buy household items.
"People are actually taking the opportunity to stock up," he said.
They're educated, they're savvy, and now they're making better decisions for their households. And in this case, it's bulk buying.
- ShopFully Australia regional manager Brendan Straw
"They want to be able to get the best price they can, and it's a great time of year to do that because retailers and other people promoting their products are putting some of their best offers out.
"Things like personal care items, things like health and wellness items, these are typically more expensive than a standard purchase.
"So if you've got an opportunity to buy that at a cheaper price, you'll buy in bulk if you can."
Mr Straw added that typically people have looked at buying something for themselves at this time of year.
But that has pulled back a little.
"I think what's changed is the pressure on households and this perceived challenge that we're all facing," he said.
"I think we're seeing in general that people are comparing more. Within our environment, we're seeing people actually spend more time viewing catalogues, for example, or looking at multiple retailers in their online session time because they're actually far more price-conscious.
"They're educated, they're savvy, and now they're making better decisions for their households. And in this case, it's bulk buying."
