Aussies tipped to spend big in a 65-hour Amazon online sale

Although the sale is annual, this year it will be bigger and longer than before, with over 100,000 products on sale, from big names to locally sourced goods.

The event kicks off at midnight, Tuesday, July 12, and will give Aussie shoppers who are Amazon Prime members discounts on big-ticket items and everyday household items.

There will be deals in a variety of categories including electronics, home goods, video games, Amazon appliances, pantry food and drink, toys, sports equipment, fashion, beauty and more.

Major brands offering discounts include Apple, Barbie, Bosch, Bose, Garmin, GHD, Instant Pot, Lego, Lenovo, North Face, Nintendo, Oculus, and Samsung.

Savings are also offered on goods from small local businesses, including Brisbane-based Nakie and Victoria’s Orbitkey, and Doggie Balm Co.

Some deals are live the week leading up to Prime Day, so members can start shopping early.

Shoppers are expected to embrace sales amid optimistic retail prospects, despite the challenges the Australian economy will face for the rest of the year.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ retail sales forecast for Roy Morgan for the coming months is annual growth of 9.9 percent in July, to nearly 13 percent in August and to 10.6 percent in September.

Julian McCrann, Roy Morgan’s communications director, described the annual growth rates as “very strong” on Monday.

“These projections suggest ABS retail sales will average around $33 billion in these months – comparable to the level of retail sales so far this year,” wrote Mr McCrann in an op-ed for the Australian Retailers Association.

“This suggests that while growth will moderate in the coming months, overall sales results are likely to hold up relatively well, despite high inflation and projected interest rate hikes.”

Mr McCrann said this was due to the “large savings buffer” Aussies had built up during the pandemic and which the Reserve Bank now relies on to support the economy over the next six to 12 months, despite rising interest rates.

“So far, this assumption has proved correct, with ABS retail sales data remaining strong in the first month after the RBA started raising rates,” he said.

The RBA raised the spot interest rate by 0.5 percentage points this month, taking it to 1.35 percent, the highest level since May 2019.

It was the third rate hike in as many months, and the Reserve Bank has warned that more rate hikes will follow in the coming months.

Peter Munckton, chief economist at the Bank of Queensland, said that, despite the mountain of savings that have driven households away due to Covid, Aussies are now being hit by a significant inflation burden.

Surveys showed consumer confidence was negative, and while higher interest rates had played a role, higher inflation was the biggest problem, he said.

As a result, Mr Munckton said there is a risk that consumer spending will decline faster than previously thought.

“May retail sales data shows that consumer spending has remained strong so far,” he said.

“But falling house prices, rising interest rates and negative real wage growth mean the risks are that consumer spending may slow down sooner than expected, which is why the RBA is keeping a close eye on what households are doing with their money. †