A Manchester garden furniture retailer has reported soaring sales during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Moda, which specialises in rattan garden furniture, reported online revenues rose 177% in April compared with the same month last year, with £1.3m spent over the Easter weekend alone.
The firm said this came as a combination of good weather, a recent website upgrade - and garden lovers "keen to ease the pain of the enforced restrictions".
Moda, which has its headquarters in Eastlands, said it has seen "significant online growth" over the last six years via an ecommerce website built by Manchester digital agency Fluid Digital, and promoted with a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
Latest North West Business News
However, the retailer needed to move its site to a new version of ecommerce software Magento which would provide better website performance and the power to manage its further ambitious growth plans.
Just days after the 'Magento 2' project was launched by Fluid, Brits confined to their homes were "clamouring" to update their garden furniture to help them to cope with the lockdown measures.
Jonny Brierley, CEO of Moda, said: “At a time of so much anxiety and tragedy we are pleased that our furniture has been able to play a small part in making these unprecedented circumstances more bearable for people.
“I don’t think anyone could have predicted this situation or the demand we would see for our range. However, I’m thankful that we had the new site in place so we could cope with the surge and people weren’t going away frustrated by a site that was slow and ultimately unable to process their order.
Most Read
Don't miss a thing - sign up for your free North West newsletter - and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the North West- and you can stay in touch with all the latest news from Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive daily morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
For all the latest stories, views, polls and more - and the news as it breaks - .
"I’m really thankful that we had Fluid Digital to manage the project and provide constant support throughout the launch so that our customers got the online experience they deserved.”
Adam Hindle, managing director of Fluid Digital, added: “There’s so much uncertainty and negativity surrounding business at the moment but Moda is one of the few companies that is performing very well.
"The new Magento 2 site not only gave it the power it needed to cope with high demand but also improved the experience for the consumer so they could make their new purchase with ease.
"Home comforts have never been more important and the last thing buyers want at the moment is a stressful and frustrating experience online. Avoiding that was a key priority for us and we are pleased to have been able to deliver a site that ticks all the boxes.”