Australians are increasingly planning purchases around major sales events. For retailers with genuinely competitive offers, that creates an opportunity to reach shoppers when they are ready to buy.
“Wait for the sale” has become a normal part of how Australians shop.
According to Australia Post, 73% of Australian shoppers wait for sales events before buying, while 81% shop around for the best deal.
The growth of Black Friday, Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Click Frenzy and retailer-specific promotions has given shoppers more opportunities to plan purchases rather than buying at the first available price.
This does not mean Australians have stopped spending. It means they are becoming more deliberate about when they spend—and placing greater importance on value.
Retailers are responding to changing shopping habits
JB Hi-Fi Group’s FY26 results provide a clear example of how promotional events now influence purchasing decisions.
The group recorded $11.06 billion in annual sales, with management observing that customers were increasingly looking for value and moving spending towards key promotional events.
This reflects a broader shift in retail behaviour. Instead of shopping evenly throughout the year, consumers are increasingly concentrating planned purchases around periods when retailers compete more strongly for their attention.
For retailers, this makes major sales events an important opportunity to showcase competitive offers, attract high-intent shoppers and build confidence at the point of purchase.
Clear value is becoming more important
Kogan founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan has also spoken about consumers researching products, comparing specifications and demanding greater value.
Following Kogan.com’s FY26 results, he explained that the company’s focus was to deliver customers more value through better prices, a broader range of products and services, and an increasingly compelling shopping experience, as reported by Ragtrader.
In a separate Inside Retail interview, Kogan described value as more than simply being cheap. It is about helping customers make smarter use of their money and giving them more for what they spend.
That is an important distinction.
Shoppers are not necessarily searching for the cheapest product available. They are looking for confidence that the product they want is being offered at a competitive price.
The sale calendar is becoming the shopping calendar
Amazon Prime Big Deal Days runs in Australia from 29 September to 5 October 2026.
It will be followed by Click Frenzy, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, pre-Christmas promotions and Boxing Day.
With so many sales events competing for attention, a new challenge has emerged: genuinely strong offers can become difficult to distinguish from the sheer volume of promotions.
A large percentage-off claim can attract attention, but shoppers may still hesitate while they compare retailers, search previous prices or wait for the next event.
This is where transparent pricing information can benefit both sides of the transaction.
Helping strong offers stand out
Discount Offers compares current offers with available Australian price history and presents the result through the Deal Truth Score.
For shoppers, this provides additional context and confidence.
For retailers, it provides an data-backed way for a genuinely competitive offer to stand out—particularly when consumers might otherwise continue comparing prices or delay their purchase.
The goal is not to criticise retailers or suggest that every promotion should be the lowest price ever recorded. Different offers can provide value through price, availability, delivery, service, warranties or product bundles.
Price-history analysis provides additional context when the advertised price is particularly strong compared with available historical pricing.
A positive shift for shoppers and retailers
The move towards sale-event shopping does not need to become a contest between consumers and retailers.
Shoppers want confidence that they are receiving good value. Retailers want competitive promotions to generate attention, trust and sales.
Those goals can work together.
As Australians become more deliberate about when they buy, retailers with strong offers have an opportunity to earn the confidence of shoppers who are already in the market and ready to act.
The bottom line
Waiting for a sale has become part of Australia’s normal shopping behaviour.
The next step is helping shoppers recognise the offers that genuinely deserve their attention—while helping retailers offering real value stand out in an increasingly crowded promotional calendar.
That is where greater price transparency can create value for everyone.
*Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute financial or purchasing advice. Always conduct your own research before making a purchase.*