As the UK’s national lockdown took Valentine’s Day fully digital, online spending peaked in the first week of February, according to the latest data from Wunderkind’s Marketing Pulse.
Website revenues increased +28 per cent week-on-week in the first week of February, as shoppers brought forward their Valentine’s day gift buying.
Online conversion rates also improved during the same period, up +19 per cent week-on-week, before dipping back down to +14 per cent by mid-February (w/c 15.02.21).
Website revenues:
|
w/c 01.02.21 |
w/c 08.02.21 | w/c 15.02.21 |
| +28 per cent | +20 per cent |
+23 per cent |
Email performance was also bolstered, with revenues generated via this channel up 5 per cent on the January average in the first week of January.
Sales of letterbox flowers saw an early surge in eCommerce orders. Online florist, Bloom & Wild, reportedly sold over four times as many bouquets in early February compared to 2020. Prompting its CEO, Aron Gelbrard, to say it had seen “strong demand with customers purchasing earlier than usual”.
Shoreditch-based lingerie firm, Bluebella, also reported that eCommerce sales made on the first two days of February outstripped last year’s performance by +119 per cent.
With hospitality closed, demand for ‘meal kits’ and cocktail deliveries also surged, as consumers sought to recreate their favourite restaurant meals at home.
Wulfric Light-Wilkinson, GM EMEA at Wunderkind, said: “Since the start of the pandemic, demand for eCommerce has been on the up and up. And this trend shows no sign of abating in 2021, especially when you add in key retail trading events, like Valentine’s Day, into the mix.
“We’re now seeing a sustained demand for digital, both from new cohorts of online shoppers and digital-natives, and this is accelerating emerging consumer demands when it comes to online buying experiences.”
Share