g to buy if there’s a significant markdown involved, so where does that leave retailers?  “While Australians continue to face cost-of-living pressures, particularly in a high-interest rate environment, we’ve seen that they’re still willing to spend, particularly on others during key gifting moments like Black Friday,” James Holloman, David Jones’ chief marketing officer, told Inside Retail. “This presents a unique opportunity for us to offer great value at a time when customers are looking for ways to stretch their dollars further. “This is why Black Friday has become such a significant event at David Jones, offering customers the chance to purchase quality, trusted brands at exceptional prices.” Approaching Black Friday 2024  In 2024, Australian activewear business LSKD opted to run a shorter Black Friday sale in comparison to last year – with a creative advertising campaign that focused on driving ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out). Meta remains the largest advertising platform for LSKD during the Black Friday Cyber Monday period, contributing to the company’s significant and sustained growth over recent years. “This year it feels like Australian retailers have opted for a longer sales period starting their Black Friday promotions weeks before the day,”  Locke Fitzpatrick, digital marketing manager at LSKD, told Inside Retail.  “We have seen the trend for a few years now and have definitely joined the party in previous years.”  Since 2021, LSKD has joined in on the “Black November” sales period, starting its discounting earlier each year. In 2021, the business went live with its promotions on November 18, in 2022 on November 15 and last year on November 9. “This year, we wanted to reduce our number of days on sale and bring energy back to the end of the month by launching the sale on the November 21,” Fitzpatrick said. In contrast to LSKD’s FOMO approach and shorter sales period, David Jones expanded its sales period with early-bird access and a longer campaign.  This year, David Jones has expanded its Black Friday offering in a number of ways, upping the number of offers from last year to over 400 and going beyond discounting alone to promote exclusive offerings from brands only available at the department store. It also provided customers with more time to shop these deals. “We’ve carefully curated these offers to ensure our customers an extended offer period for a more flexible shopping experience with deeper discounts,” Holloman said. “Our approach is built around delivering high-quality products and outstanding customer service, while leveraging our clear customer strategy to cater to different segments and ensure a seamless journey across both online and in-store channels,” he added. This year, David Jones increased its channel mix, optimising its creative content to engage with customers more effectively.  “We’ve focused on enhancing our digital presence while ensuring that we continue to provide excellent in-store experiences,” Holloman said. “While there’s always pressure to compete in the retail landscape, our focus remains on providing our customers with compelling offers and exceptional service. “Our customer strategy guides our approach to major shopping events like Black Friday, allowing us to target specific customer segments and tailor our offers accordingly.” Stacking up Holloman said that David Jones is seeing stronger momentum so far this year thanks to its insights-driven approach. It is tracking its performance closely to evolve the campaign and respond to customer behaviour in real-time. “We’re pleased with the initial sales figures, which are in line with our expectations. As we typically see, Black Friday is our biggest sale event of the year, and we’ve seen a significant increase in sales volume during this period,” he said. David Jones typically sees a large number of new customers during the Black Friday period. “Our customer count triples as new shoppers take advantage of the value we’re offering,” Holloman said. LSKD’s approach has also garnered the attention of consumers and its community.  “We broke some records together on launch night which is a testament to our community,” Fitzpatrick said. Consumer spending in many ways exceeded the activewear brand’s forecasting expectations, and on the Wednesday before the sale began, orders were up 30 per cent up on the prior year. Fitzpatrick attributed this success to a year-round, steadfast commitment to the brand’s mission of “one per cent better every day” which the company lives “by bringing value to our community year-round,” he added.