Results showed that the majority of online shoppers prefer to shop at local websites (59%), predominantly because there is a perceived shorter waiting time between purchase and delivery (64%) and because they can make purchases in local currency (53%).
According to Henk Pretorius, senior online research specialist at Columinate, "Unsurprisingly, convenience (77%) is the top reason why shoppers prefer purchasing products online. Half of the respondents also mentioned appreciating the ability to research products (e.g. compare prices and reviews). The reach to international stores and products (46%) and ability to easily send gifts (41%) also appear as significant drivers of preference for online shopping."
While online shoppers have been spending more online this year than previous years, South African online shoppers are still not big spenders with the total spend (for all purchases) for 55% of the respondents being between R500 and R2999 in the last year.
With the holiday shopping season underway the survey probed how much of the shopping for the holidays are being planned online. The most popular online purchase categories during this time seem to be travel (37%), electronics and technology (21%), and health and beauty (16%).
The most likely recipients of gifts purchased online seem to be mothers (57%), spouses or significant others (57%) and friends (50%). The majority (81%) of those who intend on making online purchases in the next month are also planning on purchasing for themselves.
However, some respondents also pointed out that online shopping in South Africa still needs to improve on reliability. "Online shoppers' feedback also reveals some bad experiences with in the past, with a very high proportion (49%) stating that they have had to wait longer than promised to receive a purchased product. Around a fifth (21%) have ordered and paid for a product that never arrived and a similar percentage (20%) received a different product from the one that they had ordered," said Pretorius.
Where appropriate, data was weighted to match the online population of the country or the online population who have made purchases in the past 12 months. Weighting corrections based on AMPS 2011 Individual (Jul '10 - Jun '11) figures.
