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    Home » News » Airtime sales lead Covid-19 e-commerce boom in SA

    Airtime sales lead Covid-19 e-commerce boom in SA

    By Staff Reporter26 November 2020
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    A new study by Mastercard has found – unsurprisingly – that South Africans are shopping more online since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. And the top thing they’re buying is cellular airtime.

    The Mastercard study, which surveyed more than a thousand people each in six African markets – including South Africa – found that clothing and groceries are also high on virtual shopping lists.

    Some 68% of South African consumers are shopping more online since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, while more than two-thirds have embraced online banking. Shippers are also opting for contactless and digital payment options over cash.

    This trend appears to be here to stay as 71% of South Africans say they will continue to shop online post-pandemic

    A majority of South Africans surveyed (81%) have shopped online for data and airtime, 56% for clothing, 54% for groceries, and 51% for beauty and haircare products since the start of the pandemic.

    “As e-commerce increasingly becomes a part of everyday life, consumers are moving other aspects of their financial management to digital, with 76% of respondents having learnt how to bank online,” Mastercard said in a statement on Thursday.

    “This trend appears to be here to stay as 71% of South Africans say they will continue to shop online post-pandemic,” said Mastercard South Africa country manager Suzanne Morel.

    Fifty-two percent of respondents said they spent more money on virtual experiences than before the pandemic. The vast majority (88%) of consumers have participated in video calls for work or leisure, three quarters (75%) have watched TV or films through an online subscription service, three in five (60%) have watched comedy online and nearly half (47%) have taken part in a virtual cooking class.  — © 2020 NewsCentral Media



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