Business & Management Studies

Abstract

The growth of the online shopping market in South Africa has been widely publicized, and has led to many online retail brands being established. More and more people in this country are shopping online. Traditional retailers have also expanded their offering to including online shopping, due to public demand and an opportunity to expand their reach. To attract growing consumer segments to online shopping, online retailers must understand why consumers shop online, as well as the different demographic factors which play a role. A survey was conducted among shoppers at two shopping centres: in Johannesburg and in Pretoria. Of the 210 completed questionnaires, only 207 were usable. Convenience sampling was adopted to intercept customers at the two shopping centres. To achieve the objectives of this study, various statistical analyses were conducted, including descriptive statistics, factor analysis, a t-test and the ANOVA test. The majority of respondents reported that they shop online. Twelve factors were identified during factors analysis, with four having a greater influence on online shopping, namely usefulness, trust, convenience and ease of use. The study also found that online shopping factors differ across demographics such gender and income groups, but not across age and level of education.