Amazon Australia is holding its second mid-year sale, slashing prices on tens of thousands of products from Friday, May 31, through the month of June. The deals include up to 50 percent off select clothing, shoes and accessories from brands such as Calvin Klein, Berlei and Bonds; discounts on select TVs, video games and books; and 15 percent off household and pantry essentials when you spend $50 or more.
Savings are advertised across all of Amazon’s 29 product categories, including kitchen, baby and pets.
“With tens of thousands of products available at discounted prices and new deals going live every day throughout June, we hope our Mid-Year Sale provides something for everyone,” Rocco Braeuniger, country manager of Amazon Australia, said in a statement about the sale.
Since launching in December 2017, Amazon Australia now claims to offer over 125 million products.
This is the second time Amazon Australia has held a mid-year sale, joining many retailers in marking down stock for End of Financial Year (EOFY) sales during the month of June.
Recent research from PayPal shows that EOFY sales are the most popular times for Aussies to pick up a bargain online, alongside Boxing Day.
That same report also revealed that while some retailers are starting to move away from markdowns, most shoppers are still driven to purchase by discounts.
PayPal found that 68 percent of Australian consumers are always on the lookout for an online sale or discount, and half of the consumers have waited for an item to go on sale before buying it online. Among Gen Z and Gen Y shoppers, that figure increases to 73 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
But this doesn’t have to be bad news for retailers. According to PayPal, online sales present an opportunity for brands to build awareness and reach new customers: 39 percent of consumers have bought a brand online they wouldn’t usually buy because it was on sale, and 39 percent of retailers said online sales increase revenue.
But it’s necessary to take a strategic approach. For instance, Amazon’s biggest sales – including its Mid-Year Sale, Prime Day sale, and Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales – are all about driving app downloads and Prime subscriptions. In turn, this drives more frequent purchasing on the platform.
According to Retail Dive, Amazon saw more than 1 million consumers use its app for the first time on Prime Day 2018.