South African e-retailers had a record-setting Christmas season, but analysts warn that the novelty might wear off soon and that buyers could revert to more traditional methods of buying. Local portals and merchants, however, saw tremendous growth during December and most are planning to expand their services.

There are still questions as to what extent online banks will be held culpable for security breaches and/or fraud occurring in an online situation. Iwan Pienaar investigates.