Why Click Frenzy sales are harming regional and rural small businesses

Click Frenzy and the culture of crazy sales is crippling regional and rural businesses who can’t afford to take part.

These flash sales events have created a culture for consumers to wait for everything to be on sale rather than purchasing as and when they need things. The big retail giants have commissioned us to look for this and Click Frenzy is just adding to that culture.

It puts undue pressure on consumers to spend money beyond their means, and as a result, it is an excellent opportunity for large and nationwide retailers — but not so much for shoppers who feel pressured to overspend, or for small businesses that cannot compete with their prices and often feel obliged to join in and lose money on sales as a result.

Australians are already suffering the economic effects of the pandemic, and the most vulnerable populations feel compelled to shop to get a bargain while going into more and more debt.

At the same time, small businesses in Australia have struggled to survive the past couple of years due to the effects of bushfires, the pandemic, lockdowns and more. They have less cash flow and smaller operating margins. These companies are the ones that need a significant boost in revenue the most right now, but they’re the least likely to get it.

Sales like Click Frenzy typically only benefit large nationwide retailers; they have never been about shopping small. Retail giants such as Big W, Target, Amazon and others can afford to slash prices and spend billions of dollars on advertising to entice shoppers, but small businesses don’t have those resources. It’s impossible for them to compete.

Our business is all about supporting small businesses in rural and regional areas struggling to survive the effects of 2020 and 2021. One thing we have seen in the past 18 months is that Australians want to support Australians, and there is massively underrated talent in rural and regional areas of Australia. Now is the time for us to support these businesses and put them on the map.

If we want rural Australia to recover, we need to think about doing things differently. We urge shoppers to be mindful of where they spend their money and spend it where it really makes a difference.

A small business owner does a happy dance every time they get a sale!  You won’t see anyone at multinational companies doing that — in fact, your money is invisible on their spreadsheet.

A few extra dollars spent at a small business could be the difference between that business surviving or having to close its doors.