No doubt about it, e-commerce has provided consumers with a more convenient way of purchasing, and users are taking full advantage of increased online security and privacy settings. All signs show that this boom is set to continue. Research and analyst firm World Wide Worx released a study which showed South Africa's total online retail spend exceeded R2-billion in 2010, an impressive growth of 30% from the previous year. Certainly, we can expect these figures to increase further over the next few years as Internet access becomes more accessible and affordable.
In terms of the retail industry, e-commerce is bigger and better than ever and if you haven't already realised, there are huge benefits to offering customers the ability to purchase your products online. Let's take a look at some of these benefits:
The world is steadily moving online and the amount of South Africans that are now purchasing products and services through the Internet is increasing at a steady pace. The only question that really begs to be asked is: "are you willing to miss out on what e-commerce can do for you as a retailer?"
Web solutions company Lima Bean specialises in development of e-commerce websites. For more information please visit www.limabean.co.za/e-commerce or email az.oc.naebamil@selas.