Publications
Partners
Cape Town – Samsung is the dominant TV brand that South Africans buy, according to data released from OLX.
The online classifieds provider said that over 60% of consumers choose the South Korean TV brand, followed by Panasonic, Hisense and LG.
“Our electronics category continues to grow extensively month-on-month. We believe this can be attributed to consumers becoming more confident with trading on online classifieds, a wider selection of goods on offer and the fact that mobile usage continues to grow,” Stephen Ballot, country manager of OLX told Fin24.
He said that interest was strongest among Gauteng residents showed the strongest interest in second hand TVs, making up 54% of national traders.
However, the platform is aware that criminals may also exploit interest in electronics goods.
Rugby World Cup
“We have a vibrant community of buyers and sellers that are quick to report any unlawful activity. Furthermore, we have a strong operational team in Cape Town that can advise customers that suspect any unlawful activity on the exact procedure to take up with law enforcement,” said Ballot.
The most popular size TV is a 42 inch (106cm) model though demand is increasing for 72 inch (182cm) models.
According to OLX, the Rugby World Cup was the impetus for people to buy TVs.
“Evidence of this is in the fact that during the two weeks leading up to the Rugby World Cup demand for DSTV decoders was up by 23%, with flat screen TVs seeing a 75% increase in demand,” Ballot said.
Big retailers have noticed the migration of people to online platforms and South African giants like Pick n Pay, Makro, Dion Wired and Incredible Connection have e-commerce enabled on their websites.
For OLX, the competition is welcome.
"We’re not concerned at all. The more new TVs people buy, the more second hand TVs need to be sold for a bargain price," said Ballot.
- Follow Duncan on Twitter
* Fin24 is part of 24.com, a subsidiary of Media24, which is in the Naspers stable. OLX is a subsidiary of Naspers.
