Australian shoppers plan to spend $346 on Black Friday, up from $324 last year
Australian shoppers intend to spend an average of $346 over the 2026 Black Friday Cyber Monday period, up from $324 last year, according to Shopify’s holiday retail report. This rise contrasts with a global decline in planned spending from $276 to $268, while 54% of respondents said economic conditions influenced their holiday purchases, prompting extra research before buying.
The report found that 85% of Australian shoppers prefer waiting to purchase a specific item rather than choosing an immediate alternative, compared with a global average of 79%. It also showed that 62% of Australian consumers expect to use AI tools for deal discovery and product comparison, with 70% of shoppers aged 25 to 34 already using such tools versus 45% across all age groups. Among businesses, 51% are investing in AI-generated content, 46% in virtual assistants and 45% in optimising store platforms for AI recommendation engines. The findings also highlight shifting merchant choices, with 54% of respondents reporting increased purchases from independent or niche brands compared to the previous year.
“Australians are still willing to spend this holiday season, but they’re putting more work into deciding what’s worth their money,” James Johnson, head of enterprise ANZ at Shopify said.
The findings come from Shopify’s holiday retail report. Australian consumers anticipate higher spending during the 2026 Black Friday Cyber Monday period even amid ongoing economic pressures.
What we know
Australian shoppers intend to spend an average of $346 over the promotional weekend, up from $324 compared to last year.
Global average planned spending declined from $276 to $268.
54 per cent of respondents noted that economic conditions have impacted their holiday purchasing decisions.
85 per cent of Australian shoppers prefer waiting to purchase a specific item rather than selecting an immediate alternative, compared to a global average of 79 per cent.
62 per cent of Australian consumers expect to utilise AI tools for tasks such as deal discovery and product comparison.