Online Shopping in SA: How Big is it Really?

Online shopping has boomed in South Africa in recent years, with the digital landscape evolving drastically and mobile adoption rates at an all-time high. As a result, many traditional shoppers are turning to online shopping to satisfy their retail urges or acquire necessities.

As South Africans are becoming more comfortable with purchasing products and services digitally, more people are discovering and supporting local businesses rather than international retailers, which helps jumpstart the economy grow local enterprise and innovation.

eCommerce,  mCommerce and personalisation 

According to Statista’s market and consumer data, the eCommerce industry in South Africa is expected to reach approximately R62m in revenue in 2020 and grow by 10% each year. And with a projected total of 31.6 million local users by 2024, it’s clear that online shopping is only going to become more commonplace as time goes on.

Global research also reveals that online shopping is shifting from desktop to mobile. Mobile commerce ( mCommerce) is on the rise, with mobile bringing in 46% of the sector’s revenue, compared to 25% from desktop and 9% from tablets.

And with Millennials checking their phones on average 150 times a day, this group of tech-savvy customers make up a massive chunk of online shoppers and are more likely to shop on their smartphones, out of sheer convenience.

But this 24/7 shopping capability has also led to increased customer expectations and demands. Adobe’s research shows that consumers have come to expect personalised experiences, with 80% being more likely to buy from retailers that offer these experiences and 63% willing to increase their spending with a brand if it emphasises personalisation.

A competitive advantage

What does this mean for local businesses looking for an edge?

It’s now much more likely that online shoppers will be interacting with your company from their smartphones and want you only to send them relevant, tailored content. Armed with this knowledge, you can work towards creating a unique and seamless mobile shopping experience that appeals to your customers.

However, as eCommerce becomes more competitive and online shoppers more finicky, partnering with a custom software company can help you to optimise your platform, customer service, and improve customer satisfaction is something that will set your business apart.

Building your own online store

When selecting your platform of choice to build your online store on, there’s a lot of names and confusing systems thrown around, which can often deter you more than anything. Using Digitise, South Africa’s very-own drag-and-drop web builder, CRM system, and marketing tool (which is delivered all in one package), you can create your own online store with ease.

Fleshed out with the ability to add tons of products, beautifully designed checkout processes, and full payment options, Digitise makes the daunting, complex, and often expensive task of setting up an online store an absolute breeze.

While these things often are run on separate systems and can end up being quite expensive and complicated, Digitise makes it simple by having it all in one place, running on one system, giving you a single log-in to control all the aspects of your business from your phone, tablet or laptop. And of course, keeps affordability in mind with flexible pricing packages.

Why not sign-up and get cracking on your business now? Check out Digitise here.