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Johannesburg - Online shopping in South Africa is on the
rise, with the majority of active internet users saying they do so, according
to a survey released on Wednesday.
"Among those shopping online, a majority 89% of
respondents are satisfied with their overall online shopping experience, with
73% likely to make a purchase in the next six months," general manager of
South Africa MasterCard Worldwide, Anna Jones, said.
"While these responses have remained static since last
year, they show that the level of satisfaction has remained consistent as the
number of online shoppers has grown."
The survey measured consumers' tendency to shop online. It
was conducted across 25 markets between December 5 last year and January 6
2012. It surveyed banked consumers who accessed the internet at least once a
week.
Managing director of World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck, said:
"We have shown that, once people are experienced internet users and go
online regularly, their propensity to shop online increases dramatically.
"The key is to convert that propensity into shopping
behaviour, and this survey pinpoints where and why that conversion is
happening."
World Wide Worx conducts annual studies on the size of the
online retail market.
According to the survey, consumers chose their online
retailer based on lower prices (91%), payment convenience (90%) and secure
payment facilities (90%).
The most popular purchases made online were products and
services related to coupon or deal sites, online gaming, applications, music
downloads and tickets to arts or music events.
South Africans who shopped online said they did so because
they found it convenient and easy, and the wide range of goods appealing.
The survey showed that 78% of online shoppers looked at
online reviews before they purchased, while 73% said that they investigated
online reviews of the retailer themselves before buying.
Seventy-four percent
of respondents said they would return to an online retailer they had already
used.
Goldstuck said: "Many people now conduct product
research online before making a purchase in-store. Retailers that avoid the
virtual option for fear of cannibalisation of customers are in fact missing out
on a powerful driver of traffic through their physical stores."
However, the survey showed that South Africans prefer not to shop online for their groceries. Only 9% purchased groceries online to avoid "the chore of grocery shopping".
"We've also found that online grocery shopping has declined, mainly because people want to choose fresh products personally, delivery schedules are too inflexible and too many mistakes are made by in-store stock pickers," said Goldstuck.
