eCommerce Sale Event Guide: Next big online sales in Australia in 2026

Why the next big sales in Australia in 2026 matter for your business

Sales events have always been popular with customers, but increasingly shoppers are becoming more strategic in how and when they spend.

• 58% of Australians are now deferring purchases until sales or special deals.¹
• During Black Friday 2024, Australians spent $2.2 billion online, up 10% year on year.²
• Across the year, sale events typically attract 24% more active households than non-sale periods.²

Upcoming sales in Australia and internationally 2026

Our eCommerce Sale Event Calendar (PDF 2.5MB) brings together key dates, valuable customer insights and tips for leveraging sale events in Australia and overseas. 

January 2026

• 1 January, New Year’s Day
• 5 January, National Returns Day (US)
• 12 January, Australian Open
• 26 January, Australia Day
• New Year sales
• Back to School sales
• Back to Work sales

February 2026

• 6 February, Waitangi Day (New Zealand)
• 6 February, Winter Olympics (Italy)
• 14 February, Valentine’s Day
• 17 February, Lunar New Year
• 17 February, Ramadan
• 20 February, Love Your Pet Day
• Click Frenzy Glow
• End of Summer sales

March 2026

• 3 March, Festival of Colours (Holi, India)
• 6 March, Winter Paralympic Games (Italy)
• 8 March, International Women’s Day
• 9 March, Labour Day (VIC, TAS)
• 14 March, White Day (East Asia)
• 17 March, St Patrick’s Day
• 20 March, Afterpay Day
• 20 March, Eid al-Fitr
• 25 March, Click Frenzy Travel

April 2026

• 1 April, April Fool’s Day
• 5 April, Easter Sunday
• 11 April, National Pet Day
• 13 April, Songkran (Thailand)
• 22 April, Earth Day
• Autumn School Holidays 

May 2026

• 4 May, Star Wars Day
• 10 May, Mother’s Day
• 13 May, Click Frenzy Mayhem
• 25 May, Hot Sale (Mexico)
• Vogue Online Shopping Night 

June 2026

• 1 June, Western Australia Day
• 3 June, World Bicycle Day
• 5 June, World Environment Day
• 8 June, King’s Birthday (all states except QLD and WA)
• 11 June, FIFA World Cup
• 21 June, Father’s Day (US, UK, NZ, Canada)
• 21 June, Winter Solstice
• 26 June, Take your Dog to Work Day
• 29 June, Wimbledon, UK
• 30 June, End of Financial Year
• Click Frenzy Tech
• Pride Month
  

July 2026

• 7 July, World Chocolate Day
• 24 July, International Self-Care Day
• 30 July, International Friendship Day
• Amazon Prime Day
• Christmas in July
• Winter Sales
• Great Singapore Sale

August 2026

• 3 August, Picnic Day (NT)
• 8 August, International Cat Day
• 9 August, Book Lovers Day
• 26 August, International Dog Day
• Book Week
• Afterpay Day
• Thailand Grand Sale

September 2026

• 6 September, Father’s Day (Australia)
• AFL Grand Final (VIC)
• Mid-Autumn Festival (China)

October 2026

• 1 October, International Coffee Day
• 31 October, Halloween
• Golden Week (China)
• Oktoberfest
• Indigenous Business Month (Australia)

November 2026

• 2 November, Recreation Day (TAS)
• 11 November, Singles Day Sales
• 19 November, International Men’s Day
• 26 November, Thanksgiving (US)
• 27 November, Green Friday
• 27 November, Black Friday
• 27 November, Colour Friday
• 28 November, Small Business Saturday
• 30 November, Cyber Monday
• Diwali (Festival of Lights)

December 2026

• 12 December, Double 12 (China)
• 12 December, Harbolnas / National Online Shopping Day (Indonesia)
• 14 December, Free Shipping Day
• 24 December, Christmas Eve
• 25 December, Christmas Day
• 26 December, Boxing Day Sales
• 31 December, New Year’s Eve
• Hanukkah
• Dubai Shopping Festival (UAE)
• Pre-Christmas Sales

How to plan for the next big sales in Australia in 2026

Having a six-month or annual sale event strategy for your eCommerce business puts you ahead of the competition. An intentional approach helps you achieve your customer acquisition, retention and revenue goals. This year, we’ve created a Sale Event Strategy Template (XLS 110kB) and six easy steps to make planning simple.

1. Choose the events your customers will care about

Review the 2026 calendar and select the events most aligned to your audience, product categories and seasonal trends.

2. Set a clear goal for each event

You may be aiming to attract new shoppers, engage loyal customers, clear seasonal stock or grow revenue.

3. Create a measurable goal

Record a specific measurement such as new customers, units sold, average order value (AOV) or revenue.

4. Plan your offer and customer experience

Different goals call for different offer types. Delivery can also influence conversion.

5. Record your results

Document your actual results using the same measurement you set out in your goal.

6. Capture your learnings

Keeping track of what worked, what didn’t and what you’d do differently helps refine your approach across the year.

What kind of offers should I run during sales?

The type of offer you should promote depends on what your goal is, and what will appeal most to your target audience. The Sale Event Strategy Template (XLS 110kB) outlines how you can tailor offers to meet your goals.

When your sale goal is lead acquisition

If your eCommerce sale goal is lead acquisition (new newsletter sign-ups or social media followers), consider these offers:

• Sign up for early access to upcoming sales with email and SMS notifications
• Wishlist promotion with notifications for price drops
• Spin to win promotion

Articulate your goal clearly: Get [number] new marketing sign-ups/new social media followers as measured in [your marketing platform/ X social media platform].

When your sale goal is new customer acquisition

If your eCommerce sale goal is more orders from shoppers who haven’t purchased from you before, consider these offers:

• % off (sitewide or select products or categories)
• Buy Now Pay Later promotion
• Referral reward - Give a friend $10 and get $10 to spend yourself
• Free shipping.

Articulate your goal clearly:

• Sell to [number] new customers as measured in [your marketing platform]
• [$] of sales from new customers as measured in [your marketing platform].

When your sale goal is to increase revenue

When your goal is to increase overall revenue, consider these types of offers:

• Gift with purchase
• Sitewide %-off flash sale.

Articulate your goal clearly. This may look like:

• Achieve revenue of [$X] as measured in [platform]
• Increase year on year revenue by [X%] to [$] in the period [date – date].

When your sale goal is to increase customer loyalty

Rather than spending time and money winning new customers, it can be more cost-effective to encourage repeat purchases from existing customers. Consider tactics like:

• Double loyalty points for a certain period
• Members-only early access to sales
• Exclusive discount for VIPs
• Birthday or anniversary rewards
• 'We miss you' win-back discount code
• Members only free express shipping for a limited time.

Your goal may be:

• Achieve revenue of [$X] from return customers as measured in [platform]
• Re-engage [number] lapsed customers who have not made a purchase for [period] as measured in [platform].

When your sale goal is to increase average order value (AOV)

Increasing average order value is another way to make the most of the customers you’ve already acquired. Consider offers like:

• Free shipping for orders over $X
• Notifications at checkout 'You're $X away from free shipping'
• Spend and save - Spend $100, save $20, Spend $150, save $50
• Bundle complementary products
• Upsell at checkout - You've unlocked a special price for X product
• Free samples for orders over $X.

An example of a clear goal is: Achieve AOV of [$X] as measured in [platform], calculated by dividing the total revenue for the period by the total number of orders.

When your sale goal is to clear inventory

Old stock takes up space and hinders cash flow. Shift slow-moving items with compelling sale offers including:

• Buy one, get one free
• Buy two, get third free
• Buy one, get second 50% off
• Mystery boxes
• Build urgency - warehouse clearance, last chance sale
• Free shipping for orders over $X

Articulate your goal, for example: Sell [number] units of [specific inventory set - season/SKUs etc] as measured in [platform].

Leveraging delivery offers and delivery experience to drive sales success

When designing the sale event strategy for your business, keep in mind the power of delivery options and delivery experience as a lever to:

• drive down cart abandonment
• drive up AOV
• increase NPS
• increase return purchases and customer lifetime value (CLV).

Most online shoppers expect parcel deliveries within two to five days, and one in two Millennials and Gen X shoppers want delivery within three days.³ Free shipping is the number one delivery preference for 56% of shoppers.³

“If you sell the same product and you’re not competing on price, how else are you going to compete? These little operational wins allow us to differentiate ourselves,” explains Guy Nappa, Director of Oz Hair and Beauty.

Make 2026 the year your sale event strategy shines

When you choose the right events and prepare with purpose, each sale event becomes an opportunity to attract new shoppers, engage loyal customers and grow revenue.

Together the eCommerce Sale Event Calendar (PDF 2.5MB) and the Sale Event Strategy Template (XLS 110kB) help you choose the right events, set clear goals and plan compelling offers for the year ahead.