General News
29 November, 2024
Black Friday Sales sees shoppers hit Horsham CBD to grab a bargain
Horsham businesses see 'great response' during Black Friday Sale.
Horsham's Central Business District was a hive of activity on November 29 as shops embraced the global phenomenon that is Black Friday.
There was a sea of black posters, balloons and signage from one end of Firebrace Street to the other as customers kicked off the festive season with bargains from numerous stores.
Mackays Family Jewellers owner Josh Mackay said he was rapt to see so many people flow through his store during the sale.
"Things have been great today," he said on November 29.
"We always get a great response during the Black Friday Sales.
"It's a good time to start the Christmas shopping and tick off a few presents.
"I even took a walk down the street during the day and there was a steady flow of people."
Despite the allure of grabbing a deal online and global economic pressure, Mr Mackay said he was confident local businesses would see a steady flow of customers until Christmas Eve.
"Horsham has a lot of resilience," he said.
"People will always come together and support each other during testing times."
According to the Australian Retail Association, Australian consumers were on target to splurge $6.7 billion between November 29 and December 2, up 5.5 per cent from 2023.
SurfOne Horsham, Wimmera Outdoors and SportsPower owner Gary Jelly said his three businesses saw a small increase in sales from the previous year.
"We're slightly up; if you look at the economy, you have to be happy being somewhere near last year," he said.
"We had a 20 per cent off sale, which is a lot for us, but it is also saving the customer money, which is important for them."
Mr Jelly said he was appreciative of customers using traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses and not sending their money overseas.
"We rely on the local community to support us; it's important to us and every business in Horsham and surrounds," he said.
"It's getting harder each year because of the Internet and online sales; we've got to keep working on buying better so we can offer better prices and products to our customers."
- With AAP