Understanding how 2020 has transformed the South African marketplace, buyer behaviour, and e-commerce trends can help your brand succeed in 2021. How? By informing your strategy. By changing the way you see marketing and even the way your business operates.

From your brand image to business goals and even how you make a profit, businesses in South Africa will need to adapt to survive. Let’s look at the facts and what they tell us about the future of e-commerce in South Africa.

5 Facts About How COVID is Changing the eCommerce Scene in South Africa

1. Before COVID-19, Families Were Already Struggling to Make Ends Meet.
   63% of people look for sales and promotions or delay purchases to make ends meet. Over 60% have cut back on spending or are worried someone in the family might lose a job. More than half of employed South Africans live paycheck-to-paycheck.
   This means that deals, sales, specials, competitions, and competitive pricing should form a big part of your campaigns. It can also help inform your messaging. Your message should convey an understanding of where South Africans are at and speak into their needs. Remember that COVID has only increased the sense of desperation and urgency due to financial need in our country.


2. Online Shopping is up by 50%.
   Even though South Africa’s ecommerce market is small compared to more mature markets like Europe’s, it is growing fast. The pandemic and consequent lockdown pushed previously cautious buyers to try buying online.
   About 62% of South Africans are now online, and more than 90% of those online visit online shops. About 70% of those online actually buy often, while about 20% are considered “transitional” and still experimenting. What this means for your brand is that you cannot afford not to sell online. In the past it was a great added extra, but times are fast moving towards online shopping being the norm.
   A few factors have contributed to this shift. First, the limitations of lockdown. Second, the virus highlighted the risks people took whenever going out in public. Third, due to social distancing and other health measures, going to the shop became a lengthy and time-consuming, more stressful occurrence. Online, in contrast, offers convenience and safety.


3. 63% of People Made their First Online Purchase During Lockdown 2020.
   Yep, COVID-19 has changed the world. South Africa’s notoriously mistrusting and traditionally minded shoppers were forced to consider online shopping more seriously for the first time. And many of our cautious shoppers took the leap into digital shopping.
   Nielson SA predicts that in 2020 the purchase of food and groceries online will have gone up by 200%! Even though numbers are promising, brands cannot ignore the need for more trust and affinity towards online shopping. Take your brand further in 2021 by using your communications channels to build trust and reassure uncertain digital buyers. Things as simple as streamlining your checkout process can revolutionise your ecommerce success.


4. The Curious COVID-19 Lipstick Effect.
   During previous financially tremulous periods, businesses observed how the purchase of lipstick increased exponentially. The reason? Psychologists believe it was a sort of affordable pick-me-up during tough times.
   During the 2020 pandemic, a few lipstick effect purchases were observed. South Africans bought more vitamins, hair care products, nail polish, and skincare products. Partly because salons were closed, and partly to lighten the load of a prolonged period of isolation.


5. The Use of Online Media for Entertainment and Distraction Skyrocketed During Lockdown.
   Even though numbers have settled a bit, experts still predict a permanent increase in the amount of time people spend online for various tasks.
   Wondering which platform is most important to advertise on? These are the most popular platforms in South Africa. About 94% of mobile phone owners spend time on social media each month. Now more than ever, reaching your audience means advertising on social.
   
   
   
   Source: Hootsuite.

What are the Permanent Repercussions of the Pandemic on Shopper Behaviour?

Brands can expect the re-prioritising of what consumers spend their money on to continue into the future. Some call this re-prioritising of spend and values a catalyst that results in “permanent basket reforms”.
In other words, what buyers put into their shopping basket will never be quite the same again. Shoppers place more value on hygiene and moral elements like the environmental impact the product has or whether it is ethically sourced. They’re also asking if your product is safe, sanitary, and useful for their needs.
Companies can use these buyer behaviours as opportunities. Do this by expressing clear messaging in your campaigns, showing how safe, clean, and useful your product or service is during these tough times. By expressing genuine care and taking action to service causes you care about. And by joining conversations that your audience cares about.
Allow us to Pitch to you today and become the key to your eCommerce success.
Sources: Reuters; Statista; Accenture; Mckinsey;