New data from CommBank suggests a promising holiday season for small businesses, with an expected sales boost off the back of a bumper Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional period as well as rush by consumers to engage in fun experiences including cinema, books, amusement parks and novelties.

Over the past two years, CommBank's business customer data has shown an overall spend during the festive period that is 11% higher than the average monthly turnover. This trend is expected to continue, providing a much-needed lift for small businesses after a challenging year.

The sectors that saw the strongest performance in December 2023, compared to the previous month, included motion pictures (+164%), book stores (+96%), hobby, toys and game shops (+53%), amusement parks, circuses, carnivals, and fortune tellers (+52%), home furnishing (+45%), and gift, card, novelty, and souvenir stores (+41%).

The Australian Retail Association predicts a record spend of $6.7 billion during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024, an increase of 5.5% year on year. The top five best performing industries by spend during the 2023 festive season were restaurants and bars, beauty and barbershops, clothing and department stores, homewares and travel, according to Rebecca Warren, CommBank Executive General Manager Small Business Banking.

"Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the start of a busy season for Australian small businesses as we head into the last month of the year. As consumer demand for a good deal reigns and more competition enters the market, it’s not too late for small businesses to take advantage of tentpole moments like these major shopping events," said Warren.

Warrn said the festive season more generally generates gains for the broader small business community, also driving revenue into supporting sectors like marketing and advertising, printing, courier and delivery services.

Not to be outdone by their metro counterparts, regional small businesses can also expect to achieve strong sales this festive season. While fast food, cafes and restaurants, and beauty and barber shops are consistently popular choices around the country, people tend to spend more money in regional areas on lodgings, hotels and resorts as well as drinking establishments than in the major cities where purchases at bakeries and jewellery stores are more common.

"For many small businesses, the holiday season contributes to the bulk of their yearly sales. However, it’s also important to plan ahead and set yourself up for success in the new year," Warren said. "Recent research commissioned by CommBank shows 70 per cent of Australian small to medium businesses have had to cut costs in the last 12 months due to economic pressures, with marketing being one of the top categories where they’ve reduced spend."

CommBank is offering 50 small business customers the chance to have some CommBank Matildas promote their business. Entries close on 9 December.

Warren also emphasised the importance of having a payment device that provides multiple connectivity options and offers a dual sim and Wi-Fi capabilities. This ensures small businesses can stay connected and keep up and running at all times, giving small businesses owners greater reliability and resiliency even if unexpected problems arise.