Johannesburg, 15 Jan 2019
Over the past few years, online shopping has shown great potential in South Africa. According to an e-commerce report by PayPal together with research firm Ipsos, the online shopping market in SA was estimated at around R45.3 billion at the end of 2018.
The report indicates that 70% of active adult online users have made an online purchase over the past 12 months, and the industry could potentially look at another R17 billion spike over the next two years.
While these statistics are moving in the right direction, there is still a lot of room left for growth, especially considering the multiple advantages e-commerce offers customers. It allows them to browse for the best deals, gives shoppers access to products from across the country (and abroad), saves time and can be conveniently conducted from smart devices too. With courier companies able to deliver packages timeously and at a cost-effective rate, it is reasonable to wonder why South Africans are slower to adopt this form of shopping compared to other countries.
In SA, online shopping takes up 1.8% of the total retail spend, whereas Britain's e-commerce spend constitutes up to 19%.
Domains.co.za CEO Wayne Diamond explains that online security could be one of the stumbling blocks that are making SA shoppers less active on these platforms. "A recent study from the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) indicated South Africa as being the country with the third highest cyber attacks in the world," he says.
"With all the hype around phishing scams and ransomware, it could be the reason why some consumers are less keen to try online shopping."
Encrypting an online store with an SSL certificate is a great place to start building consumer trust, Diamond believes. "SSL certificates not only encrypt any data shared between consumers and businesses, but it also validate the organisation itself. This offers additional peace of mind, especially for smaller, less known online stores in the market."
Payment gateways are another important aspect online stores should keep in mind, according to Diamond. "People are unique and have different comfort levels using various methods of paying for goods purchased online. The more payment alternatives you have, the more accessible you make your store for a wider group of South Africans."
Instant EFT through i-Pay is a payment method that is trending at the moment, and with good reason. This payment alternative does not require shoppers to use a credit or cheque card, neither do they need to register or download an application. Shoppers are also saved the cumbersome task of manually logging into their online banking platforms and copying and pasting the account details in order to complete an EFT payment the traditional way. Instead, shoppers can choose their bank, and log into their online banking profile right there and then, in real-time. No proof of payment is required either, which means quicker turnaround times when it comes to processing orders.
"With online security being one of the biggest stumbling blocks preventing more consumers from adopting online shopping, i-Pay's advanced security features offer additional peace of mind," Diamond adds.
i-Pay security measures include an extended validation (EV) SSL certificate, Thawte certificate and PCI DSS level one compliance.
With advanced Web site security and convenient payment gateways in place, Diamond believes e-commerce could be one of the smartest avenues a company can explore for their business this year.
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