Nompumelelo Magwaza
Spurred by the fast-growing online shopping market in South Africa, Zando, an international web-based fashion store, has introduced designer items that include shoes, clothing, bedding and bags to the local market.
Eugene Petersen, the co-founder at Zando, said yesterday that research had indicated significant growth possibilities in e-commerce in the country.
“We strongly feel that now is the time to bring a real online fashion shop to South Africa, which is part of the rapidly growing online market.”
The company is a vendor for Zalando, one of the biggest online shopping fashion websites in Europe.
The web-based store, which offered the free shipping of purchases to customers, said it could assure them of a safe shopping experience.
Zando said it had bank-level security on checkout and a company to monitor fraud and keep customers secure. The company also pledged to keep customers’ personal information confidential.
On delivery the service allowed five minutes for customers to inspect and try on their goods.
A survey conducted by PayU, a provider of internet and cellphone payment services, showed that spending on the internet grew by 30 percent in 2010 compared with 2009.
Mark Chirnside, the executive officer of PayU for the Middle East and Africa, said local consumers were beginning to recognise the benefits of online shopping.
The survey, which was conducted in November last year, revealed that 75 percent of the respondents actively participated in and recognised the important role that e-commerce played in shaping the country’s future economy.
The head of marketing at PayU, Pearl Mngomezulu, said yesterday that online shopping was happening at all levels of the economy, made especially possible by the nation’s growing access to cellphones.
A lot of online buying came from airtime vouchers, she said, adding that books and electronics were popular purchases.
Nedbank analyst Syd Vianello said the number of online shoppers was growing fast and would multiply as consumers became more sophisticated.
“Online shopping is growing in the clothing sector and is likely to be used by people who know what they want.”
He said such shoppers were aware of what they wanted; they knew the suitable sizes, colours and styles and favoured doorstep delivery.
Furniture retailers, however, might find it hard to convince customers to make their orders online because such goods were likely to be bought once the customer had seen and felt the item, Vianello added.
According to feedback from the market, “both furniture retailers and customers were interdependent of each other. Customers could only buy furniture online once they had seen it. They would only buy online for convenience”.
Vianello said that the growth in e-commerce could be a result of growing internet access in South Africa and the availability of credit cards.