Online booksellers say they had a bumper Christmas shopping season, with sales increasing by over 30%.
The critical period for online booksellers for holiday shopping is from October to mid-December, to allow for delivery lead times.
Kalahari.net saw a 32% increase in sales compared to the same period a year ago. Gary Hadfield, commercial manager of Kalahari.net, says various new initiatives gave his online shoppers a different experience compared to last festive season.
"Judging by the increase in online transactions experienced by Kalahari.net this festive season, it`s safe to say online shopping is alive and well in SA," he says.
"Throughout the year, Kalahari.net introduced several new shops and other changes to gear up for the festive season. We introduced Express Checkout, which means customers can complete a transaction in just two clicks; we introduced 24-hour delivery on top products and free delivery on orders over R250. We also opened an electronics shop that caters for the ever-increasing demand for home electronics and gadgets," he says.
Vouchers were another Kalahari.net option, with 40% of the vouchers sold in the October to mid-December season being sold in the last five days before Christmas.
Exclusive Books customer services manager Marian Hancock says judging from the credit card transactions, "we had a brilliant season, although our December month was fairly flat on a yearly basis".
Hancock says online shoppers tend to make more use of the credit card payment option when the economy is doing well, as compared with other transaction processes such as money orders or direct deposits.
Exclusive Books` Web site is used largely as an information portal for its customers who are directed to shops that have stock of the titles they are looking for.
"Most certainly South Africans are using the Internet more and more to do their research before spending money," Hancock says.
Michael van Rooyen, founder of Loot.co.za, says November was the biggest month his company experienced since it started just over a year ago, although sales did drop off during December.
"Certainly online shoppers are more aware of how to order and what to expect. They also planned their shopping season quite well. However, since we are still quite young, we have not determined a definite pattern yet," he says.
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