'I worked at a major Aussie retailer. These are the sale shopping hacks they don't want you to know about.'

If you want to support independent women's media, become a Mamamia subscriber. Get an all-access pass to everything we make, including exclusive podcasts, articles, videos and our exercise app, MOVE.

Guys, it's happening. The biggest shopping month of the year is basically HERE.

I'm talking about Black Friday sales, Cyber sales, Click Frenzy sales and 'sales for no reason' sales.

As someone who has worked at one of Australia's biggest retailers, as well as in-house at brands, I can tell you right now: your marketing, digital advertising and e-commerce friends are not OK.

Watch: The Nothing to Wear team spill the truth about sale shopping. Post continues below.

My best Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Click Frenzy sale tips.

Capitalism aside (that's a discussion for another day!!), these big sale periods are actually pretty amazing for us consumers.

Brands and retailers don't want to go on discount, but if it feels like sales get bigger and more frequent every year, that's because they are.

There's Afterpay Day sales and Click Frenzy twice a year, End of Financial Year sales, Boxing Day sales, new season sales and Black Friday/Cyber Monday — there are legitimately only a few weeks a year in which brands can actually sell their products at full price.

That said, sale shopping is super overwhelming and confusing, and it's easy to sink into a huge financial hole if you're too click happy.

One second, you're living your best life. The next, your inbox is FULL of emails from brands you've never even heard of before screaming at you NOT TO MISS OUT on this ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME DEAL.

To help you understand how these sale periods work and find the best deals, I've put together the ultimate sales guide to navigating Black Friday, Click Frenzy and Cyber Monday with my insider tips.

Click Frenzy vs. Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM).

First of all, a quick refresher on what the Black Friday Cyber Monday sale dates used to be:

Back in the day, Black Friday always occurred on the last Friday after the American Thanksgiving public holiday and Cyber Monday the following Monday, allowing a 'long weekend' of sale shopping.

In Australia, the official 2025 Black Friday date is November 28th, while Cyber Monday falls on December 1st.

Then along came Click Frenzy, a twice-yearly retail sale that usually happens in May and early November. The non-discount days between Click Frenzy and the official BFCM period have gotten shorter and shorter over the last few years.

While some brands will run a 'frenzy sale' in early November, others may choose to start their Black Friday sales early and run them for the entire month of November. I've heard some retailers and brands across beauty, fashion, department stores, electricals, white goods, home and more will start Black Friday as early as November 3rd-6th, and finish on December 2nd.

In terms of Click Frenzy vs. Black Friday and which sale will have the better discounts, it varies depending on a bunch of factors:

• Some brands/retailers will participate in both Click Frenzy (early November) and Black Friday/Cyber Weekend (late November/early December).

• Other brands will choose to participate in just Click Frenzy, or just Cyber — this year, I predict lots of places will run 'early' Black Friday sales that start in place of Click Frenzy.

• Not always, but oftentimes, discounts are similar or the same between Click Frenzy and Cyber (usually between 10 and 30 per cent off sitewide).

• However, sometimes a brand or retailer will change the GWPs (gifts with purchase) to make their sale offer stronger if they can't run a deeper discount.

• Another difference between Click Frenzy and Cyber sales (again, not always, but often!): Black Friday tends to be when brands and retailers discount holiday gift sets, so make the most of these November sales to get your Christmas shopping done.

November is the new Boxing Day sale.

Remember when you used to line up at the mall on Boxing Day morning? This is still a thing, but not so much in the age of online shopping.

All the big retailers like MYER, David Jones, Adore Beauty, THE ICONIC, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Freedom etc. will still run Boxing Day sales — Boxing Day is famously the only sale beauty retailer MECCA partakes in — but for a lot of brands, especially ones that rely on D2C/DTC (direct to consumer) trade on their own websites, November is the money month.

Decoding the discount offers.

Although it's pretty much a wild west now when it comes to sales terminology, there are a few insider tricks to understanding exactly what is (and isn't) on sale.

For example, if a brand or retailer says their Black Friday sale is UP TO 50 per cent off, there's a good chance it only applies to a handful of products or specific brands.

All they need to do is include one of those 50 per cent off products/brands in the sale creative to advertise the biggest offer… keep your eye out for the *asterisk and read the fine print to avoid disappointment.

A sitewide sale refers to a discount on every product on a website. Often, Black Friday and Cyber sales are sitewide sales.

A clearance sale often includes close-to-expiry samples (products with less than a year until the expiry date), soon-to-be discontinued items or slow-moving stock that needs to be cleared before the next season. If brands or retailers run a big BFCM sale, their Boxing Day sale might include these types of clearance products at up to 50-60 per cent off.

Listen: We decode sales in even more detail in this episode of Nothing to Wear, post continues below.

Shopping on brand websites vs. at a big retailer.

Before working in retail, I assumed brands could sell their products at whatever discount they wanted. This isn't always the case.

Since the rise in shopping via brand.com websites over retailer sites and department stores, brands and retailers find themselves competing for the same slice of pie. Sometimes (but not always), brands and their retail partners will agree to offer the same discount during big sales, so the customer can decide where to shop based on their needs.

We as consumers are so trained to shop during sales and seek out the best offers; to make sales more enticing, brands and retailers will come up with unique GWPs, competitions, loyalty perks or even things like free express shipping.

GWPs are getting bigger and bigger too; once, you'd feel grateful for a few free sachets. Now, you might find a full-size product, partnership gifts from like-minded brands, or branded merch in your order.

So, should you shop directly from a brand, or via one of their retail stockists? It depends.

If you buy a lot with a single brand, shop direct and make sure you're logged in to your loyalty account to redeem perks and rack up loyalty points (which can often be redeemed for a $ off amount on a future purchases). If you have lots of different brands on your list, shop with a retailer.

Your sale shopping plan.

If you want to make this November sales period work super hard for you, it pays to have a plan. You can wing it, but you will likely end up buying things you don't really want or need, or missing out on freebies and benefits.

Here are some things you can do to set yourself up for sale shopping success:

• Love a brand or retailer? Everyone's sale dates will differ, so sign up to their newsletter now so you will be notified when the sale starts — most brands tease their sale, so you'll usually have around two to four days' notice to get your list ready.

• You can also get early sale access, extra points or an extra five to 10 per cent off if you join a brand or retailer's loyalty program, or subscribe to their SMS list — you can always unsubscribe later! Do this if you really want something and think it will sell out.

• Check if the brand or retailer offers other benefits like Qantas points, Frequent Flyer points, Cash Back, Shop Back or any other cash rewards — if you're shopping, you may as well make your purchases work as hard as possible.

• Sign into your shopping accounts and 'build your cart' before a sale goes live to increase your chances of securing items in your size/shades; this isn't foolproof, but worth a crack!

• Do your Christmas shopping during the sales! Make a list of every gift you want to buy and be methodical — holiday gift sets usually have a discount on the RRP (recommended retail price), but will be further discounted during Black Friday sales.

• Make a list of things you want and/or need to buy, and scout out where they'll be on sale — think big ticket items like sofa beds, mattresses, Dyson vacuums and hair tools, electricals like TVs, fridges, washing machines etc.

Finally, remember to breathe and keep a level head, OK?

There's nothing wrong with buying something because you want it if you have the means, but sale purchase regret is real and can result in a bunch of things sitting in your home collecting dust, or worse, ending up unused in landfill.

Before you add something to your cart, ask yourself: would I use this or wear this tomorrow? Would this make my life easier?

And those are my best sale shopping tips! Godspeed, my friends!

Feature Image: Supplied.