For some South Africans, shopping online has become the norm, so much so that they are purchasing from the Internet more often and buying a wider variety of goods.
At the same time, there are a significant amount of South Africans who have not shopped online and do not intend to do so within the next year.
These are the findings of the 2017 E-Commerce Industry Report compiled by Effective Measure, IAB South Africa and Ecommerce Forum Africa.
Effective Measure surveyed 8 751 respondents in SA between July and August. Of those surveyed, 46% said they have at some point in their lives used the Internet to buy something online.
Of the respondents who said they shop online, 25% were above the age of 60, but the majority, 40%, were under the age of 40.
Convenience and price are cited as the main reasons for not going into a physical store, as shopping online saves time and cuts down on the hassle of shopping in-store, including travel time and finding parking.
Those who shop online tend to be high income earners who work full time, with over 35% earning above R30 000 a month. A quarter of the respondents use time at work in the mornings to make their Internet purchases.
The most popular purchases are items that don't require delivery time and are available almost instantly, such as travel and event tickets. Other favourite goods include books, clothing and software.
Nearly 70% of those who shop online do so at least once every three months, and 6% say they do so once a week.
Over 80% say they have either increased how often they buy online in the last year, or have maintained the same frequency.
For those respondents who have never shopped online, 43% say they would prefer to pay with cash and believe having this as a payment option would make them feel more comfortable shopping online.
The main reasons for not shopping online are concern about returns (32%), a lack of trust in online shops (8%), and others (15%) saying they prefer to touch and feel products before purchase.
However, close to half of offline shopper respondents think they will become online shoppers in the next year, and 23% believe they could be persuaded by an online-only discount offer.
The World Wide Worx Online Retail in South Africa 2016 report shows while online retail remains a small market, it continues to grow at a high rate in SA.
The research found online retail grew 26% in 2015 and was worth around R7.5 billion. Forecasts by World Wide Worx for the next five years show online retail sales almost exactly doubling from 2016 to 2020.
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