The Covid-19 pandemic and national closure have had a devastating effect on many South African industries and businesses, but on all. On the contrary, a secure sector has shown impressive growth.
In a world where leaving home can be fatal, buying groceries online has the new retail therapy. And for some of the country’s leading online companies, this has led to a sales boom.
Essential parts such as cleaning products, stationery, air time and hygiene products were sold well in bidorbuy, as were health-related products, adding mask and thermometers. And as other people spent more time at home, the demand for quieter categories has also increased in a different way, adding entertainment pieces like Spotify game wallets and coupons, sports gadgets like indoor motorcycle coaches and categories for home and life that come with small and giant appliances. “We’ve noticed great adjustments to their overall performance,” Lubbe says. “Home and life, toys and recreation and games doubled overnight, and music and instruments, as well as craftsmanship, have also grown incredibly.”
Brendon Williamson, sales manager at DPO South Africa, agrees. “People who spent more time at home in grades five and four meant they had more time to plan and think about what they would like to buy, especially when it came to space and garden innovations. As soon as they had access to the products, they seized the opportunity. Anticipating the repressed demand point, DPO temporarily scaled its systems to cope with an accumulation in transaction volumes, and on Saturday, May 30, two days before the start of Level 3 on June 1, the existing payment service provider experienced twice the amount of pre-average blocking (measured in transactions consistent with minutes) Alcohol Array , food and games are the main drivers.
Dr. Alek Nikolic, Director of SkinMiles, believes there are 4 reasons why those adjustments relate to your business. First and for example, consumers are involved in buying groceries in the store and feel safer when they shop online. Second, all salons were closed at levels five and 4, requiring a full transition to online grocery shopping. Third, consumers had more free time, so their online presence increased. Finally, consumers spent more time on social media, expanding their exposure to advertising and, in particular, to ads that encouraged them to take care of their skin and their beauty needs.
The strict online era has created a new category of buyers. Without the option to physically buy groceries from physical malls, others still had no option to browse online. Lubbe points out that this is the catalyst for other people who were not online shoppers before adopting this specific virtual learning curve. Registered bidorbuy users have increased to more than two million, with continuous expansion in this area. And, reflecting the largest variety of products purchased online, Lubbe says it saw a strong double-digit expansion in the number of page perspectives viewed through buyers in May and June this year compared to 2019.
Nikolic believes this is a permanent replacement because “new online consumers have learned how convenient and safe it is.” In addition, courier companies have perfected the art of next-day delivery at primary centres in South Africa, making it less difficult to deliver products to consumers very quickly.