A new set of figures is out and they show that online shopping in South Africa is on an upward spiral. It seems that finally more and more people in the country are shopping online.

The majority of online shopping in South Africa is done on airline websites, which continue to be the major factor behind the growth of online retail in the country. To put this into perspective, the five local air carriers : Kulula, 1Time, Mango, South African Airways and Nationwide, together accounted for R2.3bn in online sales in 2006 and this figure is expected to go up to R3bn in 2007.

The online retail figures in South Africa released by a local research group World Wide Worx (WWW) show that in 2007, online retail should total R929m up from R688m in 2006. These figures exclude all online airline shopping. The researchers also say that the main reasons for the growth in online shopping in the country is due to more usage of broadband internet connectivity in South Africa and more and more people are feeling confident and comfortable in shopping online now as they have become more experienced.

In my opinion the future is looking good in terms of online shopping in South Africa. The more people that start shopping online the better it is for the country as a whole and better yet, online shopping restricts many barriers of entry for those wanting to enter the retail market but can not afford to rent or buy a physical shop and maintain it. An online shop will allow a business to sell their products online without the added administration of maintaining a physical shop.

What do you think about online shopping?

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