Online spending in South Africa is forecast to grow to over R53 billion by 2018, with mobile shopping taking the lion’s share and providing fertile ground for expansion among retailers.
One beneficiary is online retailer RunwaySale, which says its membership has risen to over one million since it launched over five years ago.
“South Africans love to bargain hunt and it’s so much easier online,” CEO Karl Hammerschmidt said.
“We believe the exponential growth is because smartphones and tablets are far more affordable; consumers are more tech savvy; they have become comfortable with online shopping; mobile applications are increasingly user friendly and customer centric and financial transactions are secure.
“This makes it easier for people to do pretty much anything, including shop ‘on the go’.”
He said the company’s mobile traffic had increased from five percnt three years ago, to 60 percent of total traffic currently.
“The fact is mobile overtook desktop just over a year ago and is continuously growing, we expect it to be at 75 percent by the end of the year,” Hammerschmidt added. (via Africa News Agency)
