South Africans Account For Only 1% Of Online Retail Sales, And Will Grow By Leaps And Bounds In The Future.

Nowadays, more and more South Africa People use computers and mobile phones to shop online, but physical stores are still very important shopping channels. South Africa's online retail industry still lags behind many other countries. Factors such as insufficient logistics conditions, slow broadband speed and high cost have become an important factor to curb the development of e-commerce.

It sells well in many countries' online stores. Shoes and clothing Category in South Africa is mediocre, because the sizes of shoes and garments in different brands and stores are inconsistent. Many people can not buy their own sizes online, so they like to go to the physical store to try them on.

Industry analysts said that although South Africa's online retail sales now account for only 1% of the total retail market, South Africa's e-commerce will achieve rapid growth in the next five years.

According to recent reports in South African media, according to the Accenture survey, about 46% of South Africans like to go shopping in physical stores and take things home directly, while 25% people go shopping online through mobile phones and computers. This international consumption habit is the opposite. From the international average level, 37% of people like it. online shopping 28% of people prefer shopping in physical stores.

Accenture survey found that the most important reason for South Africans to choose online shopping is that online shopping is more convenient. In addition, many South Africans will check the prices of the products before going to the physical stores before making a purchase decision. However, many South Africans find that online shopping will encounter many problems, so when the store closes, they would rather wait for second days to open the shop and go shopping instead of buying the order on the website that evening.

In addition, South African customers like to buy coupons from mobile stores, pick up coupons, scan two-dimensional codes and get loyalty scores. When scores are accumulated to a certain level, they can get concessions from merchants.

GSMA, the representative of global telecom operators, said that in the past five years, sub Saharan Africa has become the fastest growing area of mobile phone users in the world. Mobile phones have become the main equipment for access to the network in this area, mainly because the price of personal computers is too high and fixed broadband lines are not enough. The penetration rate of mobile phone network in South Africa is 30%, which is higher than the global average level, which means 1 of the 3 people in South Africa are mobile broadband users.

EY survey data show that logistics has become the main factor that restricts the development of e-commerce in South Africa. An order's delivery cost almost tops the value of the product itself. At present, the total retail market value of South Africa has reached 500 billion rand, but the proportion of online retailing is less than 1%. Because most of South Africa still likes to go to the physical stores, some grocery stores are not enthusiastic about expanding the online market.

When consumers buy a garment online, if the size of the garment is not correct, the return will inevitably generate additional costs and time. There is always some error in the size of clothing between different brands or stores in South Africa. People always have such doubts when buying clothes online, so they are more willing to patronize stores, and feel comfortable buying them after touching them and trying them on.

However, Roger Tejwani, an independent analyst, said that in the next five years, the online shopping market in South Africa will surely take off. "You can see that South Africa's mobile phone penetration rate is very high, even in the forefront of the world. South Africans are familiar with high-tech products. They are already very active online. They often browse products, compare prices and so on. Yes, you can see that there are difficulties in logistics and postal services, but the lagging behind of e-commerce in South Africa is largely the reason for retailers, who are lagging behind in their participation in e-commerce, but they are now taking prompt action. He said.