Australia’s online shoppers will have the chance to buy a new TV for $25 or a PlayStation for $4 tonight, when the annual Click Frenzy Mayhem sale gets underway.
The sale, in its third year, will kick off at 5pm and offers more than 1500 discounts across 200 different retail brands, with up to 99 per cent off prices in some cases. The sale runs for 24 hours through to 5pm Wednesday.
Finder.com.au estimates Australians will spend $110 million during the sale.
Those looking to log on and shop should tread carefully though, Finder.com.au spokeswoman Bessie Hassan said.
“Some brands put on a flash sale at the same time, but aren’t part of the official sale,” Ms Hassan said. “It pays off to do a quick check online to make sure you’re getting the best deal. And bear in mind brands and retailers extend their sale beyond the 24 hour period, which will give you time to really consider the purchase.”
Click Frenzy managing director Grant Arnott said the headline deals for 2017 include a PlayStation 4 for $4, an Xbox 500GB console marked down from $389 to $3.50 and a 65 inch LG TV slashed from $2500 to $25. These deals are for subscribers only, who need to register online in advance.
“You don’t have to be a subscriber to participate in the sale, but only subscribers can access the 99 per cent off deals,” Mr Arnott said.
“We call these the ’go nuts’ sales. Subscribers get an email telling them when certain banners will appear on the site and the first ones to click through get the deal. They are limited numbers.”
Other discounts on the site include 85 per cent off homewares, 80 per cent off cosmetics and fragrances, 1000 count Egyptian cotton sheets for $75 and a high definition waterproof camera for $45.
“Last year we had around 1.2 million visitors, but this time we are expecting more than 1.5 million,” Mr Arnott said.
“Interest levels are already much higher than previous years.”
Click Frenzy was established in November 2012 and experienced a web crash for several hours due to more traffic than anticipated. Mr Arnott said this prompted Click Frenzy to invest in better infrastructure and sales have run smoothly since.
“We call these the ’go nuts’ sales. Subscribers get an email telling them when certain banners will appear on the site and the first ones to click through get the deal.”
“We’ve spent money on the best security structures too,” he said, adding that transactions occur on the websites of the individual retailers rather than being hosted by Click Frenzy.
Retailers pay an entry fee starting at $500 to Click Frenzy to be a part of the sale and can then pay more for prominent positioning and more visibility on the site.
The sales are modelled on Cyber Monday, the biggest online sale in the USA, which takes place at the end of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and allows customers to browse deals across a web platform that must be able to absorb extreme traffic.
Finder.com.au research shows the second busiest time for Click Frenzy 2016 shopping was between 12noon and 3pm on the second day. Unsurprisingly, the busiest time is the first few hours of the sale as brands go live at 5pm.
The 5pm spike coincides with the end of the working day, showing that some Aussies might be going on clicking-sprees on the boss’s time before heading home.