24-hour online megasale

Hundreds of retailers will be hoping for a clicking frenzy next week

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published November 13, 2012 10:39 am AEDT

Hundreds of Australian retailers are holding a 24 hour mega sale online next Monday, emulating their US counterparts, as online retailing continues its assault on bricks-and-mortar stores.

The event starts at 7pm November 20, with the start time set to coincide with 'couch shopping', a time when many Australians are shopping on the web.

So far more than 150 retailers have signed up, offering discounts of between 15% and 90%, including Target – owned by Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES), Just Jeans – owned by Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV), Bing Lee, Kogan, Dan Murphy's – owned by Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW). Dotti, Portmans, Jeanswest and Ted's Cameras are some of the other retailers also joining in.

They will be hoping to achieve similar results to the US, where Cyber Monday is now the biggest online shopping sales day in the US. Last year saw 10 million shoppers spend more than US$1.25 billion in 24 hours.

According to Click Frenzy organiser, Grant Arnott, the event has been likened to the Boxing Day sales on digital steroids, and they are hoping to attract more than 200 retailers and 1 million shoppers. The aim of the event is to showcase Australian retailers' online offerings, spur retail sales in a normally quiet period before Christmas, and allow retailers to get in before the US version, Cyber Monday kicks off a week later. Shoppers can access the bargains, offers and deals at the sale website clickfrenzy.com.au.

The one day event is an example of how Australian retailers are attempting to reinvigorate retail sales and keep more internet traffic and revenues within Australia. With the current high Australian dollar, consumers are opting to purchase goods from offshore online retailers. A bonus for consumers, is that for purchases under $1,000, they don't pay GST, which would add another 10% to the cost, although there is a push from state governments and retailers such as Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX: HVN) to reduce that threshold down to around $30.

Foolish takeaway

Retailers will be hoping the event is a success, and leads to more sales not just on the day, but in future as well. We could then see 'Click Frenzy' become an annual event, and the biggest online shopping day in Australia.

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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King owns shares in Woolworths. The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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