E-commerce trends taking off in SA

Cape Town - Kevin Tucker, founder of product discovery and comparison service PriceCheck maintains that the growing local e-commerce industry presents a solution for sector growth.

E-commerce, as a global trend in its own right, continues to increase in popularity and consumer uptake in South Africa. This is as a result of a number of supporting trends, from greater variety offered by e-tailers, to the evolution of tech offerings - such as shopping apps - and the profile and behaviour of shoppers themselves.

In the context of this phenomenon, PriceCheck recognised the need for brick-and-mortar stores to list their products and sell them online, which resulted in PriceCheck launching PriceCheck’s Marketplace for consumers. Marketplace allows PriceCheck to offer a full circle shopping experience - people are able to compare products, find the right one for them, and purchase it right there and then on the PriceCheck website.

A survey on the online shopping behaviour of South Africans, conducted by PriceCheck, revealed that 83% of shoppers use PriceCheck to compare prices, products and stockists before making a purchase.

Tucker explains that retailers need to fully embrace digital commerce in order to thrive. Stores without an online presence are destined to disappear. Today’s consumer owns several devices—smartphone, tablet, computer—and expect an online shopping experience that’s quick, easy, and, above all, user friendly.

As such, online price comparison platforms, such as PriceCheck, assist the growing e-commerce sector in providing a positive user experience as well as educating brands on their extended, online client base.