After a surge in demand for inverters, generators, batteries and similar items, more traditional stocking fillers soon took their rightful place in shopping carts.

(8 January 2019) For several days, it looked like the spirit of the 2018 festive shopping was in danger of being sidelined on South African online marketplace bobshop.co.za in favour of some more prosaic necessities.

As the country got hit by yet another wave of load shedding at the beginning of December 2018, products such as inverters, generators, UPS devices, batteries and everything solar-powered suddenly rose in prominence”, says Bob Shop CEO Craig Lubbe and adds: “Those are certainly not your traditional stocking fillers… However, our sellers worked hard to meet this increased demand.”

Christmas shopping regained its festive lustre on Bob Shop as soon as the public was assured of a respite in load shedding. “Almost immediately, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, gadgets and toys were again the most sought-after items on our platform”, says Lubbe.

In keeping with the trends of the times we live in, hoverboards and drones overtook traditional toys such as dolls, teddy bears or plastic lorries during the 2018 festive shopping season on Bob Shop. The most popular among electronic and digital gadgets were smartwatches, power banks, TV boxes and e-readers. Cookware sets, lounge suites, bed covers and portable air conditioners were also high on the list of items bought on Bob Shop during the 2018 Christmas shopping season.

“The shopping trends on Bob Shop during December 2018 confirmed how sensitive shoppers are to changing circumstances”, says Bob Shop CEO Craig Lubbe. “They are ready to redirect their shopping budgets as the needs dictate and we were pleased to note that Bob Shop sellers reacted quickly to meet the swing in demand”.

Lubbe adds that, despite the uncertain economic climate, the 2018 Christmas shopping on Bob Shop recorded an upward tendency, as it always does at that time of the year.