Aussies have capitalised on Black Friday and Cyber sales, with Australia Post’s parcel data from the cyber weekend (29 November – 2 December) revealing a record eCommerce period with online purchases up 7.8% compared to the same time last year.1

This year’s most popular purchase category for Aussies was specialty food and liquor, experiencing year-on-year (YoY) growth of 23.6%. This was followed by health and beauty with YoY growth of 6.1%, hobbies and recreational goods at 5%, and fashion and apparel at 4.3%.

Across the country, Queensland saw the strongest growth in online purchases YoY at 12.1%, followed by the Northern Territory and Tasmania at 9.7%.

Australia Post Executive General Manager, Parcel, Post, and eCommerce Services, Gary Starr, said delivery teams are well equipped to meet the increased delivery demands.

“Cyber sales have provided Aussies with a great opportunity to drive their dollar further which is why the sales events have been history making.

“Customers can be assured that we’ve added more capacity across our workforce, including recruiting thousands of new team members, weekend deliveries, and more freighter capacity to manage the increased volume. We’ve also extended Post Office trading hours in select locations.”

Australia Post also saw an uptick in App usage with 1.7 million customers2 using the Aus Post App over the cyber period, up 22% from the same time last year. 6.8 million App pages were viewed during the cyber period, with the parcel tracking feature the most popular.

Australia Post is encouraging customers to get their Christmas gifts in the Post as the deadline for last sending dates fast approaches.

"While many have already made their purchases ahead of time, there are those who love a last-minute dash. We want to reassure customers that we are more prepared than ever to ensure that every parcel sent by our last sending dates will be delivered by Christmas day.

“It is, however, important that customers understand that if they miss our Parcel Post and Express Post cut-off dates, there is a possibility their parcel will arrive after Christmas day," Mr Starr emphasised.

To give items the best chance of arriving on time, parcels should be sent by Friday, 20 December for most destinations within Australia, or if sending via Express Post by Monday, 23 December. People sending to or from Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and outside a metro area should allow additional time.