Shopping IL effect: online purchases soared, physical stores paid the price

Google's Shopping IL promotions led to a sharp increase in online purchases and a decline in physical store sales. In the cosmetics sector, online sales surged by 106%; in computers and cellphones, turnover rose by 20%; and in fashion and footwear, total turnover fell by 5% amid expectations of further deals.

The strongest shopping day of the week in major retail sectors was last Thursday, thanks to Google's Shopping IL promotions held on Wednesday and Thursday. Data from the Phoenix Gama index, which tracks credit card activity and consumer behavior, shows that online purchase turnover surged across all sectors, while purchases in physical stores declined. In the cosmetics sector, weekly shopping turnover rose by 20%, with online alone jumping by 106%. The average online transaction was about NIS 345, nearly three times that of physical stores (about NIS 118). The most significant increase this week was in computers and cellphones, where purchase turnover rose by 20% compared to the previous week, due to a massive rise in the number of transactions. A notable increase also occurred in tourism (14%), attributed largely to purchase amounts and easing security tensions. In contrast, fashion and footwear saw a 5% decline, likely due to expectations of more aggressive deals later in the month. The sector's online turnover jumped 37% from the previous week (the largest increase was in footwear: 82%), but in physical stores and malls turnover fell by 13%. Nadav Lachmani, CEO of Control from Phoenix Gama, said: "Shopping IL proved that the battle for the consumer has moved online. Overall, the public acted cautiously: they took advantage of deals in cosmetics, computers, and fashion, and saved big purchases for the deeper deals at the end of the month."