A new study by MasterCard reveals that South African shoppers are increasingly turning towards the internet to buy their groceries.<\/p>\n
The Online Shopping Behaviour Study, published in conjunction with World Wide Worx, noted that South African e-commerce industry is growing as only 24% of local online spend was on foreign shopping sites, down from 27% the previous year and 33% in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe products that consumers are buying suggest that online shopping is becoming increasingly mainstream, which also bodes well for local retailers,\u201d said Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo longer is online shopping confined to books and DVDs, plane tickets and apps.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report noted that consumers purchasing groceries (38%), clothing (34%) and personal care (20%) brands online increased by 7%, 8% and 6% respectively, with the number of visits to these sites averaging at two per week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe increases are encouraging as shopping for goods in these categories is more complex. Selecting clothing, for example, requires trust in the retailers\u2019 garment and sizing descriptions,\u201d said Goldstuck.<\/p>\n
While preference for Kalahari declined somewhat from 47% to 35%, it remains South Africa\u2019s favourite online store.<\/p>\n
Local e-tailer Takealot.com enjoyed the greatest increase in consumer preference, as 11% shop most frequently from this store, an increase of 4% from last year\u2019s study.<\/p>\n
Safe and secure<\/strong><\/p>\n Concern around the safety of online transactions was the reason 42% of respondents gave for not shopping online in the last three months – up 4% from last year.<\/p>\n When asked how online shopping could be improved, just over half (53%) of the respondents suggest visible, explicit assurance that their transactions are secure, while 52% recommend \u2018protection against unscrupulous websites\u2019.<\/p>\n A further 48% suggest guarantees by financial transaction companies or banks that websites are safe.<\/p>\n Despite this seemingly negative sentiment towards online shopping, over two thirds (69%) of respondents say they have made at least one purchase online in the last three months and a significant 87% of those reported being very or extremely satisfied with their experience.<\/p>\n \u201cConsumers want to shop online but they are still nervous about doing so,\u201d said Philip Panaino, Division President, MasterCard, South Africa.<\/p>\n The annual Online Shopping Behaviour Study was conducted in 11 countries across Africa and the Middle East between November 2013 and January 2014.<\/p>\n The South African study surveyed banked South Africans aged between 18 and 64 who access the Internet at least once a week.<\/p>\n Considering the overall online shopping experience, 90% surveyed are influenced by convenient payment methods, 87% by quickly-completed transactions and 86% will return to a site offering low or no additional delivery chargers.<\/p>\n Pricing, still an important consideration, was mentioned by 89% of respondents last year, compared to 85% in the most recent study.<\/p>\n Costly experience<\/strong><\/p>\n The number of respondents feeling that online shopping is costly has declined 13% in 2012 to\u00a0 just 9% in 2013, while only 3% find e-commerce sites difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n This, said Goldstuck, further suggests that online retailers are succeeding in making online shopping a compelling alternative to physical stores.<\/p>\n The study found that 33% of those accessing the Internet via mobile phone intend to shop using their device or have already done so, a jump of 9% from 2012.<\/p>\n The most popular items purchased by those who\u2019ve made a purchase using their phone in the last three months include mobile phone apps, music downloads, movie tickets, computer software and coupon\/deal site offers.<\/p>\nMore on e-commerce<\/h3>\n