As Amazon Australia takes orders in time for Christmas, this year’s Boxing Day on line sales, the US equivalent of Black Friday, could see an increase of 45% compared to 2016, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The company’s latest consumer payments survey reveals that Boxing Day online spending on Australia’s largest annual sales day could reach A$290m. This would be three times more than average online sales on any other day of the year with payment cards remaining the preferred method of payment for Australian shoppers.

Arnie Cho Payments division senior analyst at GlobalData commented: “It will be fascinating to see how well Amazon Australia, competes for its share of Boxing Day sales in this its first year of operation. We estimate that over 40% of this year’s Boxing Day online sales will be transacted through cards, which remain the preferred payment mode for e-commerce transactions in Australia.’’

Alternative payment methods have already gained wide acceptance on the back of rising consumer preference for more convenient methods of payment.

Cho continued, ‘’With retailers integrating their loyalty programs with mobile wallets, digital wallets are likely to continue to gain market share. PayPal alone could capture one fifth of this year’s Boxing Day online payment transactions.’’

Apple Pay is expected to capture a relatively small share. Three of the four major Australian banks – Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac –have announced a joint partnership to develop their own mobile wallet, Beem.

Cho added, “The only major player in Australia currently working with Apple Pay is ANZ, which could hamper Apple Pay’s chances of making inroads in this year’s Boxing Day Sales.”

In terms of devices used for online shopping, while desktops and laptops will remain the preferred channels, their share will continue to decline as more people are expected to shop using mobile devices.