The end of the financial year (EOFY) period has become a pivotal annual sales moment for businesses, with many brands extending their sales well into July due to their popularity.
The rising popularity of the annual shopping event, however, means that businesses need to get creative to cut through the noise. So how is your business navigating busy periods to smash its sales targets?
As a business at the forefront of consumer shopping behaviours, at Afterpay we released a consumer insights report to help Aussie businesses better connect with their customers during sales periods by sharing insights into the way Aussies shopped during EOFY 2022.
Unsurprisingly, we found that almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of Aussies are shopping sales to take advantage of discounts. Specifically, more than four in five (84 per cent) seek a fixed discount, while almost three in five (59 per cent) like a ‘buy one, get a second one discounted’ offer and 57 per cent love a gift with purchase.
With so many discount options, you should consider matching deals with products to optimise your sales. For example, we found that ‘buy one, get one’ discounts work well for items that usually are bought in multiples, such as school supplies (those winter uniforms) or family tech products and accessories, while gifts with purchase work well for items commonly bought by customers to treat themselves.
We also found that 57 per cent of Aussies are trying to get value for money when shopping sales, with two in five (42 per cent) of Aussies looking to buy items that are normally out of their budget or just to treat themselves, so it’s crucial to highlight the great value of your sales offers to shoppers.
Our data shows Aussies shoppers are becoming more savvy, thinking ahead and purchasing gifts for friends and family during sale periods to be more tactical for upcoming events. During the 2022 EOFY sales, almost a third (30 per cent) of Aussies were buying gifts for loved ones in advance, and businesses can leverage these gifting moments, like birthdays, Christmas and Mother’s or Father’s Day, as a call to action to drive sales.
When preparing your retail marketing strategy, it’s important to consider who you’re trying to reach. Based on our findings, more than two in five (43 per cent) Aussie millennials were shopping EOFY sales last year, making it the largest age group in Australia. This creates an opportunity to skew marketing to appeal to this generation.
Marketing on platforms used by millennials such as Instagram and Facebook, as well as sharing content that resonates with them, tapping into nostalgia or 90’s references, is a great way to connect with them.
While busy sales periods can be intimidating for businesses, making sure you’re well prepared and informed, as well as properly understanding consumer behaviors, can be the difference in smashing your sales targets.
Read more of our consumer insights in Afterpay’s full report ‘here’.
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