Could Amazon Australia be waiting until Boxing Day to crush Aussie retailers?

Australia’s Boxing Day retail event could generate up to 45% more online sales than 2016, according to analyst predictions, as experts warn Amazon Australia will have its sight set on crushing competitors right after Christmas.

Drawing on customer payments data across a range of consumer spending studies in 2017, retail data analytics firm GlobalData predicts online sales on Boxing Day could go as high as $209 million, with Amazon Australia’s tilt at the post-Christmas sales period predicted to be a big event.

Other retail analysts have predicted Australian shoppers will not be focused on brand names over the coming weeks, so much as the deals on offer.

“Amazon’s philosophy is to understand what consumers want and work backwards from there. Shoppers in Australia and globally are often indecisive, demanding and displays little loyalty. If Amazon or any other retailers are able to offer a balance between a great selection, convenience and low prices, they might potentially have a winning formula,” Euromonitor International senior research analyst Hianyang Chan said in early December.

Australian retailers are gearing up for a big Boxing Day, but while some saw Amazon’s local launch as slow going, payments division analyst at GlobalData, Arnie Cho, says the sector should be looking beyond the performance of local brands and towards the global giants.

“It will be fascinating to see how well Amazon Australia competes for its share of Boxing Day sales in this its first year of operation. We estimate that over 40% of this year’s Boxing Day online sales will be transacted through cards, which remain the preferred payment mode for e-commerce transactions in Australia.”

Amazon has been, as usual, tight-lipped on its post-Christmas strategy, telling SmartCompany it had “nothing further at this time” in regards to sales information.

However, the company has lifted the lid on its top-performing categories since launching in Australia.

While there had been a buzz about the company’s foray into fashion, it was books and tech that took out the first sales spots in its first week of operation.

Games FIFA18 and Call Of Duty: WW2 for PlayStation 4 were the most frequently purchased products, with books from The Barefoot Investor and Five Ingredients also cracking the top 10.

“Outside of the top ten, Australians have been buying everything from daily essentials, including nappies and socks, to bigger purchases such as wearable tech and cameras,” Amazon Australian country manager Rocco Braeuniger said in a statement this week.

Cut through Amazon Australia noise with simple, beach-focused, targeted social

Predictions of Amazon’s Boxing Day dominance means it’s critical smaller retailers make their way directly into their customer’s social media feeds, says director of CP Communications Catriona Pollard.

“Take into consideration that your customers are probably not going to be at work, they’re not going to be at a PC,” she says.

Small businesses should plan a targeted Facebook and Instagram strategy over the next two weeks, with Pollard pointing to three key elements every effective online retailer should hit this time of year.

The first is knowing who your customer is, so you can boost and target posts to hit that demographic.

“It’s really more about having a social strategy that boosting with things like Google Adwords at this time of year. Understand who your customer is and what kind of information they’ll be looking for,” she advises.

Then, make sure those ads are straightforward about your product offer and lead the shopper directly to an online point of sale.

“If you’ve got a product that’s a big seller, absolutely push that. It can’t be every product that you push out there, so keep it targeted and something very specific. Keep it to something simple,” Pollard says. 

Thirdly, make sure your content matches your customer’s lifestyle this time of year.

“You need to link things to what customers are doing this time of year. Link it to summer, to joy, to oceans. Understand they will most likely be on their mobile device, and will be more social online during this period.”

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