It opened its festive season sales campaign in November with the Black Friday Weekend, which yielded 168% more orders per day than the daily average for the rest of the month. Black Friday alone drove a 603% increase in orders and an 86% increase in site visits compared to the daily average of visits during November, setting the scene for a bumper season in December.
Trends over December mirrored South African holiday patterns with mobile traffic and conversions picking up while desktop traffic and conversions tapered off following the long weekend that traditionally signals the start of the summer holiday. Over the 2014 festive season, the majority of Spree's shoppers were still visiting the website from desktops, however 41% of visitors were from mobile devices, signalling a greater confidence and comfort in shopping from the beach or on the go.
Year-on-year, Spree saw a 180% increase in visits and 338% increase in orders over the 2014 festive season. The mobile share was significant with a year-on-year increase of 193% for visits, while the desktop visits increased by 173%. Orders placed via mobile increased by 245%.
Spree's festive best sellers of those items selected and shipped as gifts included necklaces, bracelets and handbags; men's t-shirts and wallets. However, Home Décor was the top selling overall category, with frames as the most popular gift item in this category.
"It's clear that more South Africans are embracing the benefits of online shopping, such as expedient delivery options, sourcing items that aren't available in-store and the overall convenience, especially if they are using their smartphones or tablets," says Louna Lohann, GM of Spree. "In 2015, the company will be responding to the increased use of mobile devices to find innovative ways of delivering value-added content and features to mobile users, as well as UX improvements that enhance the entire customer journey online from inspiration through to payment."
