It seems Australian consumers love a sale, with Black Friday 2017 witnessing a 112 per cent revenue growth compared to 2016.
According to Salesforce, this is the highest year-on-year growth ahead of Canada, France and the UK and makes Black Friday the second highest grossing day during the shopping period behind Boxing Day.
While Black Friday and Boxing Day sales are traditionally held in-store, they are now bona fide online events, and shoppers are increasingly turning to their phones to access discounts. Boxing Day shoppers were the most mobile, with 68 per cent of traffic and 54 per cent of orders coming from mobile devices.
It’s not just sales events that entice shoppers to browse using their smartphones. Globally, Q4 2017 saw mobile reach an all-time high, accounting for 60 per cent of all traffic to retail sites. Mobile buying also surged, with 46 per cent of all orders originating from a mobile device.
Salesforce’s James Johnson said digital shopping continues to grow, particularly mobile.
“Digital shopping in Australia and New Zealand continued its rapid growth in 2017, closing out with a 33 per cent increase in revenue for the final quarter. At the same time mobile has exploded, with more consumers than ever engaging with brands via their smartphone.
“Consumers expect a seamless, outstanding experience on mobile as they seek the convenience of shopping online rather than braving the holiday shopping season crowds. As we plan for 2018’s holiday season, brands are challenged to deliver an outstanding experience on mobile that keeps shoppers coming back for more.”
Johnson said data shows an increase in Australian shoppers keeping items in their virtual baskets to purchase at a later date. This means retailers need to offer a coherent customer journey that draws shoppers back to the site through personalised, relevant content based on what’s in their cart.
“Retailers need to provide the best offer, on the right products, through the best channel, at the best moment in time all year round. Having the right data and using it effectively is crucial to fuelling an effective personalised, omnichannel retail experience.”
Fashion retailer Cotton On recently redesigned its websites to optimise the experience for mobile, and Cotton On Group general manager, e-commerce, Brendan Sweeney, said it has made a big impact.
“Australia is a global leader on mobile commerce and it’s especially relevant to our customers… Since [redesigning our sites] we are seeing double digit conversion improvement and 50-60 per cent of our orders coming from mobile.”
Cotton On is also focusing on personalising its shopping experience by using customer data to make marketing campaigns and online product recommendations more relevant. This is currently based only on online behaviour, but Sweeney said it will soon take into account behaviour across all channels.
“The exciting unlock for us will be as we roll out our multi-brand, multi-channel rewards scheme CottonOn&Co. Perks. This will allow us to understand customer behaviour across all brands and channels and further personalise their experience.”
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