Rates Just Hit 4.6%. Black Friday Is Going to Be Huge

Episode 155 is Wednesday 30 September, the last day of Q3. Adelaide can't decide if it's summer, and Mal is recording in shorts. The warm snap is pulling summer buying forward. A couple of Mal's clients are selling picnic gear at full price, without discounting. That's a nice counterpoint to last week's "nobody pays full price" story.

The big one this week is the Reserve Bank lifting the cash rate to 4.6%. That's the highest in 15 years, and it lands eight weeks before Black Friday. Mal makes the contrarian call: squeezed shoppers will save up and spend big in the sales, so November could be huge, with a hangover in January and February. Alex covers gift edits and event wear. They both talk about a two-speed Christmas, where people with a mortgage cut back and outright owners keep spending.

• QBD says manga is its fastest-growing book category. The licensing lesson is to look for the fandoms nobody's tapped yet (Alex had to Google what manga is).
• Vinnies has started selling on eBay Live, beginning with a signed Roosters jersey from $1. Apparently 40% of Australians want to shop by livestream. Mal is not one of them.
• New research says shoppers barely notice when packs get smaller but do react when prices go up. Would you rather pay the same for less?
• The RBA takes rates to 4.6% just before Black Friday. Deloitte has retail growth slowing from 2.8% to 1.5%, and it's a two-speed Christmas.
• Glassons posts a 50% profit jump on the back of Australia, while Cue sits in receivership with Myer, Brand Collective and Oroton circling.
• Eye-Patch Gate: Fenty, Glow Recipe, Huda Beauty and Vitamasques all launched the same "innovative" eye-patch dispenser within days of each other. Your manufacturer might already be your competitor.