Black Friday is now the second highest grossing day during the shopping season behind Boxing Day after witnessing 112 per cent revenue growth compared to 2016.

According to Salesforce’s All Wrapped Up Report, Black Friday has continued to become even more popular across Australia and New Zealand – ranking the highest on year-on-year growth ahead in Canada, France and the UK.

Australian shoppers turned to their phones this season with 57 per cent of Cyber Week traffic coming from mobile devices. Boxing Day shoppers were the most mobile with a massive 68 per cent of traffic and 54 per cent of orders coming from mobile devices, the report revealed.

Salesforce said this past quarter saw shoppers use their phones to make purchases more than ever before, while digital shoppers showed the strongest buying signals on record. The report indicates the fourth quarter was the only quarter in 2017 where traffic growth outpaced shopper spend growth, which rose 5 per cent.

Mobile reached an all-time high, accounting for 60 per cent  of all traffic to retail sites in Q4. Discount rates and free shipping peaked to 23 per cent  and 72 per cent  respectively, leading to a slight decline in average order value.

Mobile buying surged with 62 per cent  of all traffic and 46 per cent  of all orders originating from mobile devices. Discount rates soared during Cyber Week, reaching a peak of 29 per cent , up from 27 per cent  in 2016.

James Johnson, Salesforce Regional director, Customer Success & Retail Practice, APJ, said 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. He encouraged brands to deliver an outstanding experience on mobile that keeps shoppers coming back for more.

“Consumers expect a seamless, outstanding experience on mobile as they seek the convenience of shopping online rather than braving the holiday shopping season crowds,” Johnson said.

“Our data shows an increase in Australian and New Zealander shoppers keeping items in their virtual basket to purchase at a later date. Having a coherent customer journey which draws shoppers back to your site with personalised and highly relevant content based on what is in their virtual basket is crucial to conversion.

“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 fueling an effective personalised, omnichannel retail experience.”

Brendan Sweeney, general manager, E-Commerce, Cotton On Group, said to meet customers’ needs, they have recently redesigned all their sites to optimise the experience for mobile shopping.

“Since then we are seeing double digit conversion improvement and 50-60 per cent of our orders coming from mobile,” Sweeney said.

“It’s all about creating the best and most convenient customer experience. Our recent roll-out of click and collect enables customers to shop the full range of any of our brands and pick them up free in a convenient local store.

Sweeney added the company is seeing strong demand at a global scale for  convenience.

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