Myer’s Online Sales Flourish During COVID-19, Up 800% Over Easter Long Weekend

Despite closing all of its physical stores in late March, Myer has posted strong sales growth through its online channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online purchases made over Myer’s Easter Treats Sale that ran over the long weekend were up 800%. Beauty purchases were up a massive 7000% on that Saturday for one-day-only beauty offers, according to The Australian.

To facilitate uptake of online purchases, Myer has lowered its free delivery threshold to $49. They also offer contact-free delivery. Given that Myer stores are closed, the usual Click & Collect service is currently unavailable.

The surge in online demand has enabled the department store to redeploy more than 2,000 of its staff to assist with online operations.

When Myer closed its doors to brick-and-mortar stores on the 27^th March it also announced that it would be standing down 10,000 staff without pay, so there are still a large number of Myer employees going without work. At this time, C-suite executives said that stores would initially be closed for four weeks.

Myer’s main competitor David Jones has also witnessed a surge in sales since the COVID-19 pandemic. While David Jones has kept its stores open, it has only witnessed a growth in sales on its online channels, which grew by 108% in March.

Since the Easter long weekend, Myer has launched a new round of sales, focusing on Bonds, casual wear and sleepwear, and Le Creuset cookware, in keeping with broader COVID-19 trends (Australians are spending 71% more time on cooking websites).

Myer’s share price on the ASX was up 2.5% today, reaching $0.20. This is some way above the low of $0.095 on the 20^th March, but still below pre-COVID-19 levels – Myer’s share price ranged $0.59-0.44 from October 2019 to January 2020.