For Queenslanders, Bridget Mackenzie and her old schoolmate Jaymee Swift, the Boxing Day sales are more than an opportunity to bag a bargain.
It's become an annual tradition for the pair to catch up and have some fun in Brisbane while shopping, now they live more than 1000 kilometres apart.
And this year they have extra special reason to shop for bargains.
"We're hunting for baby stuff, pram stuff and some clothes," said Ms Mackenzie, 30, who is pregnant with her first child.
"This year we can say, 'look out pregnant lady coming through!'," joked Ms Swift.
The pair arrived in Brisbane early on Wednesday and queued with hundreds of other eager shoppers at stores at the city's main mall in preparation for a day of retail therapy and gossip.
"We get in early and then we come out for lunch when the shops are packed - the early bird gets the worm," says Ms MacKenzie.
"It gets pretty crazy and intense in there."
Boxing Day will be the biggest single spending day of a Christmas season that already has retailers raking in a record-breaking $50 billion in sales since mid-November, the National Retail Association says.
Australian shoppers are set to splurge a record $2.49 billion nationally and $420 million in Queensland, chief executive Dominique Lamb told reporters.
"Foot traffic is up around the state and at major centres they're certainly at peak levels, nationally we know 10 million Australians will be shopping today," she said.
"Around the country, anywhere that is having sales, there have been lines out the door from very early this morning, we (even) had people camping out."
This year's sales are a first for Chinese university student Minki Shi, who was shopping with her University of Queensland mates.
"We don't have sales like this back home, it's a fun day with friends and hopefully I'll find some sports shoes too," she said.
"We just love the experience and the atmosphere."
