Zyft CEO reveals why customers now solely purchase throughout gross sales occasions and the way this ‘wait to spend’ mentality is reshaping total trade.
What’s taking place: Australian shoppers have shifted to a “wait to spend” mentality, solely making main purchases throughout gross sales occasions like EOFY, creating excessive volatility in retail buying and selling with sharp spikes adopted by flat durations.
Why this issues: This strategic procuring conduct is making retail forecasting practically not possible and forcing companies to fully rethink stock administration, pricing methods, and buyer engagement as shoppers commerce every day luxuries for deliberate big-ticket purchases.
Australian retail gross sales jumped 4.9% year-on-year in June, however the spike wasn’t an indication of client confidence returning. It was proof that customers have basically modified how they purchase, making a risky new actuality for retailers struggling to forecast demand and handle stock.
The surge was pushed solely by end-of-financial-year gross sales, revealing what Richard Stevens, CEO of AI-powered value comparability instrument Zyft, calls the “wait to spend” client mentality that’s reshaping retail calendars and forcing companies to rethink their total method to buyer engagement.
The ‘wait to spend’ entice
“Yesterday’s ABS Retail Commerce information, revealing a 1.2% month-on-month spike in retail buying and selling for June, is proof that the up-and-down spending volatility pushed by peak gross sales moments is the brand new regular,” Stevens mentioned.
The sample is stark: Might noticed simply 0.2% month-on-month progress as shoppers held again, then June exploded with EOFY cut price hunters. This isn’t random, it’s strategic client conduct that’s turning conventional retail planning on its head.
“Following a comparatively flat buying and selling interval in Might, which noticed only a 0.2% month-on-month enhance, the bounce again final month, pushed by EOFY gross sales, clearly illustrates the present ‘wait to spend’ client behaviour pattern,” Stevens defined. “As a substitute of spreading their spending out throughout the yr, customers are strategically aligning their purchases to main gross sales occasions.”
The shift creates what Stevens describes as “a minefield for forecasting and stock administration” as retailers battle to foretell when demand will spike and crash.
EOFY gross sales show the sample
The June information backs up Stevens’ evaluation with surgical precision. Classes that usually profit from strategic buying led the cost: family items jumped 2.3% month-on-month, shops rose 1.9%, and different retailing climbed 1.9%.
In the meantime, cafes, eating places and takeaway companies fell 0.4%, suggesting shoppers are chopping small, common purchases to fund bigger, deliberate buys throughout gross sales durations.
“This means that customers could possibly be deprioritising the little luxuries like coffees and lunches out in favour of upper worth, strategically timed purchases, significantly for discretionary gadgets,” Stevens famous.
KPMG chief economist Dr Brendan Rynne confirmed the pattern’s drivers: “As cost-of-living pressures proceed, households are very a lot vying for bargains wherever they will, with sale gadgets now consuming a far bigger portion of our spending in comparison with only a few years in the past.”
Black Friday psychology spreads
Stevens factors to earlier retail information displaying this isn’t a one-off phenomenon. “Final December, buying and selling fell 0.1% month-on-month regardless of the festive gift-giving season, whereas November rose 0.8% month-on-month, suggesting customers front-loaded their spending round Black Friday and Cyber Monday.”
The Black Friday mentality ready for assured reductions relatively than paying full value has unfold past November to each main gross sales occasion. EOFY, Boxing Day, Easter gross sales: shoppers now plan main purchases round these predictable low cost durations.
“This isn’t only a one-off. It echoes a sample throughout previous retail buying and selling figures,” Stevens mentioned, describing how what began as seasonal sale procuring has developed into year-round strategic buying conduct.
Australian Retailers Affiliation CEO Chris Rodwell acknowledged the problem: “Whereas retail gross sales have lifted, this doesn’t essentially translate to a greater working place for retailers as EOFY reductions are extra outstanding in June.”
Espresso versus strategic purchases
The information reveals a transparent trade-off in client spending patterns. Whereas family items, shops and clothes noticed important month-on-month will increase, meals companies declined, indicating shoppers are actively redirecting spending from common purchases to deliberate gross sales buys.
Stevens interprets this as proof of refined client decision-making beneath monetary strain. Slightly than chopping spending solely, customers are optimizing when and what they purchase to maximise worth.
“Right now’s savvy shopper is utilizing accessible instruments to make value-driven buy selections lengthy earlier than they stroll by way of the shop door,” he mentioned, highlighting how know-how has enabled extra strategic client conduct.
This shift from impulse shopping for to deliberate buying basically modifications the retail relationship, with shoppers now viewing common pricing as doubtlessly wasteful relatively than handy.
Profitable the brand new sport
Regardless of the forecasting challenges, Stevens sees alternatives for retailers keen to adapt to the brand new client psychology.
“Whereas the ‘wait to spend’ mentality creates a minefield for forecasting and stock administration, the shift in client behaviour additionally opens clear avenues for retailers to realize a aggressive edge,” he mentioned.
His prescription focuses on assembly shoppers the place they’re: “Retailers who proactively have interaction customers throughout digital touchpoints, harness AI to ship personalised experiences, and promote clear pricing would be the ones that win out on loyalty in the long term.”
The 4.9% year-on-year progress suggests client demand hasn’t disappeared, it’s simply change into extra concentrated and strategic. For retailers, success now will depend on understanding and dealing with these new shopping for patterns relatively than preventing them.
As Stevens places it, the volatility isn’t going away. The retailers who thrive shall be those that be taught to surf the waves relatively than get crushed by them.
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