The $4.6 billion white goods retailer also operates in New Zealand,Slovenia,Croatia,Ireland,Northern Ireland,Singapore and Malaysia. Australia was Harvey Norman’s worst-performing market between July 1 and November 25,with sales down 11.6 per cent along with a 2.6 per cent drop in New Zealand.

Harvey Norman opened one new store in the ACT and four new stores in Malaysia,with Harvey defending the company’s strategy to double down on investing in physical showrooms.

Harvey said the retailer’s Black Friday sales had been “very strong”,but conceded it was impacted by high traffic volumes that saw its website slow to a “snail’s pace” between 8am to 8pm on Friday.

“We lost quite a lot of online business,” he said,adding that many people who couldn’t make purchases online came into a store or phoned the customer line.

Harvey said he would be asking the IT department why the website lagged given it had received similar traffic levels in previous Black Friday and Boxing Day sales. “I don’t think it’ll happen to us again,I’ll bet anything.”

Harvey Norman tends to target the middle higher-income consumers,who tend to be older with more money to spend. Over recent months,Harvey said the average transaction price had diminished,with Australians who might normally spend $3000 on a fridge,washing machine or TV opting to spend $2000 instead.

“They are a little more careful with their dollars,” he said. “We obviously try to attack the middle-to-upper more because your average selling price is higher and your margin’s better,and you’re selling a better product … We’re spending a lot more money on our stores with presentation,so we’re concentrating strongly in that area.”

Meanwhile,online-only furniture and homewares retailer Temple&Webster released a trading update on Wednesday which showed their sales jumped 23 per cent over a similar period,with customers spending $17.4 million across the four-day period of Black Friday and Cyber Monday,representing double what they spent last year.

The digital retailer,which ispopular with millennials and has become a major alternative to flat-pack giant IKEA,enjoyed a500 per cent profit jump during the COVID pandemic-induced online shopping boom,but lost the wind in its sails when lockdowns unwound and people started spending more time outdoors.

Temple&Webster chief executive Mark Coulter argued that the online-only business has become attractive to customers again in a tougher economic environment.

“As customers feel poorer,they’re seeking out more value,and online is just a better value channel,” he said.

Asked whether Temple&Webster would ever consider a showroom,Coulter said being an online-only retailer allowed it to save on fit-out,rent,electricity and logistics costs associated with running a bricks-and-mortar store.

“I’d prefer to be very clear on our proposition,which is,yes we’re online only,and yes you may not be able to touch and feel our products. However,they will be cheaper,” he said.

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