Big Discounts Are Good, but be Click Frenzy Wary

Consumers and kibitzers can't wait for the day to finish and for the clock to strike 7pm in a mad dash to Australia's first nationwide online sale,Click Frenzy. But financial experts warned the frenzied clicking could do more damage than good to one's finances later on.

"This type of marketing is designed to get you to make on-the-spot decisions," Penelope Hill, services manager from financial counselling service MoneyHelp, was quoted by News Limited.

"All we're saying is take a deep breath before typing in your credit card details and consider your financial position before buying," Ms Hill pointed out, stressing bargains eventually lose value if bought with credit cards with high interest rates.

She also advised buyers to avoid adding items to virtual shopping carts to avoid pre-Christmas over-commitment.

Click Frenzy, Australia's reply to the United States' Cyber Monday and Black Friday specials, begins tonight at 7pm AEDT. About one million shoppers are expected to take part in the 24-hour event, with sales likewise expected to tens of millions of dollars for local retailers.

But not all are after all frenzied to join the clicking game.

Retailers such as Harvey Norman, department store David Jones and Apple, among a few, although did not participate in the nationwide online sale, have instead seized the excitement build-up to come up with their own discount sale schemes.

David Jones, for instance, launched this morning its Christmas Frenzy, a day-long sale that will push until 10pm in stores and extend until midnight online, offering discounts such as 30 per cent on all manchester and some women's shoes, 25 per cent off Christmas items and 20 per cent off toys.

A David Jones spokesperson confirmed to The Herald Sun that its 24-hour sales blitz was concocted to jump into the rush of competition for bargain hunters.

More than 200 retailers are participating in Australia's first ever Click Frenzy.

"We expect to break a lot of records,'' organiser Grant Arnott said.

"There'll be a lot of bargains on offer and we're very excited to bring an iconic event to the Australian market.''