The record number of online sales of the new Harry Potter book could be another sign that online retail is getting its second wind in SA, according to Kalahari.net CEO Hein Pretorius.
The release of JK Rowling`s book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, at the weekend drove record online sales of over 3 000 units through Kalahari.net. Around 3 000 copies of the book were pre-ordered online and through mail order from Kalahari.net sister companies Leisure Books and Leserskring.
Kalahari.net, Leisure Books and Leserskring fall under N-Direct, a multi-channel marketing company. Pretorius says an additional 3 000 sales are expected through N-Direct companies in the next few weeks, making the latest book in the Harry Potter series the biggest online seller for the group yet.
Despite readers` fears of possible delays in delivery, Kalahari.net delivered 900 pre-ordered books to readers in main centres on the book`s launch date. Delivery of the remaining 2 000 pre-ordered books to outlying areas began on Monday.
"No problems were experienced with delivery," says Pretorius. "We have the capacity to cope with up to 20 000 units a day if necessary. The only difference here is that we`re talking about a single book. I don`t think any online retailer in SA has ever had orders for 3 000 of the same item for a single day."
Pretorius says record sales like this one are an indication that local consumers are growing more inclined to shop online.
"Online retail is driven by online banking. Internet banking is the first step, and as consumers become more confident in transacting online, they turn to online shopping. This turnaround is said to take around 18 months, but I think it is becoming faster. If we consider the 700 000 to 750 000 people now reported to be using Internet banking in SA, we can expect to see significant growth in online retail soon."
Kalahari.net, commonly regarded as one of the biggest local online retailers in terms of turnover and users, has a customer base of around 130 000 people, with around 63% of sales from repeat customers.
Pretorius expects to see significant growth in the next six to nine months. "Online retail is growing at a rate of knots in SA," he says.
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