Scroll, Swipe, Shop: A Mobile-First Easter Shopping and Engagement Boom in South Africa

Easter in South Africa is more than just a time for celebration—it has evolved into a key retail and digital engagement period. As we look ahead to Easter 2025, consumer behavior trends indicate a surge in mobile usage, online shopping, and social media interactions. With South Africa’s mobile penetration growing rapidly, brands have a unique opportunity to capture the attention of mobile-first consumers during the festive season.

Mobile Usage Surge: The Heart of Digital Engagement

South Africa is expected to have 16.14 million mobile internet users by 2025. This signals a highly connected population likely to spend more time on social media, messaging platforms, and mobile apps during Easter. The top social media platforms are becoming ideal for brand engagement, influencer marketing, and digital advertising.

Moreover, the average South African internet user spends 9 hours and 38 minutes online daily, reflecting a deep digital dependency. With 118.6 million mobile connections—almost twice the population—consumers are utilizing multiple devices for shopping, work, and communication.

The Easter Shopping Boom: Mobile Commerce Leading the Way

Easter has become a major shopping event in South Africa, with R2.2 billion spent during Easter 2024. Mobile commerce continues to dominate, with 77% of consumers preferring to shop via smartphones. This trend indicates that Easter 2025 will see a higher reliance on mobile shopping.

What Are Consumers Buying Online?

E-commerce accounted for 7.2% of South Africa’s overall retail sales in 2024, with strong growth projections. Key product categories expected to drive sales during Easter 2025 include:

• Clothing and shoes – projected to generate nearly 25% of online retail revenue
• Electronics and digital devices
• Jewelry, leather goods, and accessories
• Food and beverages
• Household appliances

With a shift toward convenience and fast delivery options, South African click-and-collect firms are capitalizing on the growing e-commerce demand.

Fintech on Fire: Digital Transactions on the Rise

As South Africans embrace mobile commerce, the adoption of fintech apps has also increased significantly. Between Q1 and Q3 of 2024, fintech app installations in Sub-Saharan Africa rose by 34%, while in-app purchase revenues surged by 28%. This indicates a growing reliance on digital payments, e-wallets, and BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) services. For brands, ensuring secure, seamless, and fast mobile payment options will be crucial to maximizing sales during the Easter season.

Social Media: The Gateway to Consumer Engagement

With 26 million active social media users in South Africa (42.8% of the population), Easter 2025 will see heightened digital engagement. Social platforms will serve as discovery channels for shoppers looking for Easter deals, product recommendations, and seasonal promotions.

Key trends for Easter 2025 marketing:

• Influencer marketing: Brands collaborating with local influencers for Easter-themed promotions
• Social commerce: Direct shopping via Instagram and Facebook Shops
• Short-form video marketing: Engaging TikTok and Instagram Reels campaigns
• Conversational commerce: WhatsApp chatbots for instant shopping assistance

For brands looking to optimize sales, a strong presence on social media will be essential to capturing attention and driving conversions.

Travel Trends: Local Journeys Fueling Retail Activity

Easter 2024 saw 2.3 billion kilometers traveled by South Africans—the highest recorded in six years. However, 83% of these trips remained within home provinces, suggesting that most travel was short-distance.This presents a significant opportunity for retailers with a local presence, as shoppers are likely to visit nearby stores, malls, and shopping centers. Brands can use location-based advertising and geo-targeted mobile promotions to engage travelers within their vicinity.

Shopping Trends: The Last-Minute Shopper Phenomenon

A study on South African Easter shopping habits revealed that:

• 32% of consumers start shopping one week before Easter Sunday
• 26% begin a few weeks in advance
• 18% shop throughout the Easter season
• 16% wait until the last week of Easter

This confirms a strong last-minute shopping trend, which will likely impact online and in-store sales patterns. Retailers should prepare for a surge in demand closer to Easter weekend by optimizing stock availability, express delivery options, and last-minute digital promotions.

Unlocking Custom Audience Segmentation: A Growing Digital-First Shopping Mindset

With a highly connected consumer base and a growing digital-first shopping mindset, South Africa presents a unique opportunity for brands to drive precision-targeted engagement this Easter. A massive 7.5 million consumers are actively shopping. With over 35 million connected devices shaping consumer behavior, brands that leverage AI-driven segmentation, predictive analytics, and dynamic creative optimization will capture intent at scale and convert browsing into buying this Easter.

Winning with Mobile-First Marketing: Opportunities for Brands in Easter 2025

With 74.7% internet penetration and an increasingly digital-savvy population, brands should adopt a mobile-first marketing approach to maximize engagement during Easter 2025. Here’s how businesses can capitalize on key trends:

1. Mobile-Optimized Shopping Experiences: Ensure websites and apps are fast, responsive, and user-friendly. Streamline checkout processes and integrate digital payment solutions for seamless transactions.
2. Leverage Social Commerce & Influencer Marketing: Create Easter-themed campaigns on top social platforms, collaborate with influencers, and offer exclusive social media discounts.
3. Personalization & AI-Driven Marketing: Use AI-powered recommendations, chatbots, and personalized email marketing to enhance user experiences.
4. Last-Minute Shopping & Express Delivery: Prepare for high demand in the final week before Easter by ensuring fast delivery and efficient inventory management.
5. Digital Advertising & Geo-Targeted Promotions: Utilize location-based advertising to target local shoppers and travelers.

The Way Forward: A Digital-First Easter for South Africa

As mobile commerce, social media engagement, and digital transactions continue to rise, Easter 2025 in South Africa is set to be one of the biggest mobile-driven retail periods yet. Brands that embrace mobile-first strategies, leverage social commerce, and cater to last-minute shoppers will be best positioned to maximize their reach and revenue.

With a consumer base that is increasingly digital, mobile, and social, Easter 2025 presents an exciting opportunity for brands to drive engagement, loyalty, and sales during this festive season. 🚀

(Sources: Statista, Business Tech Africa, SME Tech Guru, AppsFlyer, Bizcommunity, Reuters.com, Corporate Lightzone, IT Web, DataReportal, KLA.CO.ZA, Internal mDMP Data)