High interest rates have forced consumers to spend more conservatively on their loved ones.
This is according to Jump.co.za MD Albert Bredenhann. "The interest rates have definitely had an effect on consumers. Customers still made Valentine's purchases, however, sales are significantly down from last year," he says.
According to Bredenhann, conservative spending was a direct result of consumers having less expendable cash. "It is very interesting to see that consumers were more frugal this year, and it reflects the general retail trends we are seeing across the country."
Netflorist says despite the slowdown, the company is still happy with the returns it is seeing. "We did see a slowdown from September last year - we have come off growth of around 45% year-on-year, but it has stabilised now at around 20%," says Netflorist marketing director Sue Morris.
The company did grow off a higher base than last year, she states. "Therefore, we still consider this to be satisfactory."
According to Morris, at its peak, the Web site received about four orders a minute. "We had very few usability issues too, which means customers are becoming more accustomed with online purchasing."
This year's top seller for Netflorist was a modern arrangement of 12 clustered roses in a tall pottery vase, a change from the classic 12 red roses in cellophane.
Jump.co.za saw a spike in lingerie-related click-throughs. "Men are more likely to buy underwear online, and it is clear in the spending patterns we are seeing moving through Jump," says Bredenhann.
Woothworths is in a closed period and would not disclose the sales throughput the Web site processed.
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