CBA data confirms Australian shoppers spent big in Black Friday sales.

Australian shoppers flocked to Black Friday sales, spurred on by heavy discounting, CBA says.

Australian shoppers have taken advantage of steep pre-Christmas discounts. Picture: Brett Wortman

Australians spent up big during last week’s Black Friday sales, more than doubling their outlay in the previous year.

Early credit card data from Commonwealth Bank indicated retail expenditure on the day lifted 87 per cent from the average spend in the three weeks prior, with growth continuing over the weekend and into Cyber Monday.

The previous year’s data recorded much smaller average sales growth, of around 28 per cent.

READ MORE: Black Friday sales killing Christmas for retailers | Retail sales stagnate in October

Commonwealth Bank senior economist Kristina Clifton said consumers were driven by heavy discounting, with department stores and electronic goods experiencing the biggest online uplift over the four-day period.

“By category, online spending in department stores and electronic goods retailing rose by 238 per cent compared to the average November daily spend, while in store spending was up by 153 per cent,” she said.

“Online clothing sales rose by 146 per cent and in-store clothing sales rose by 52 per cent. Home furnishings and equipment spending was up by 116 per cent online and 33 per cent in-store.”

The data comes after ABS retail sales figures on Thursday showed October growth was unchanged, amid stagnant sales growth within the domestic retail market.