Mobile shopping increases for Christmas

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

"Based on this uptake in our mobi services, Santa's little helper this Christmas will be mobile shopping platforms," says Gary Novitzkas, CEO of kalahari.com.

A recent mobile shopping survey, conducted by the company, not only shows that 51% of connected South Africans access the mobile Internet every day, but they also intend to buy, with 26% having already made a purchase and a further 53% considering it.

"Mobile shopping is still a small base of overall transaction volume but we expect it to overtake PC as the most sought after way to access the internet and transact in coming years. As an online retailer, this has resulted in another channel to market and therefore a slightly different sales platform," he says.

"Top selling categories on our mobi site this festive season are books, then DVDs, then games followed by technology products." As shoppers become more comfortable with mobile commerce, it is likely that higher priced items such as electronics will start to dominate sales, as is the case online," he concludes.

Mobi tips

• Product reviews - do your research and pull up the reviews of products before purchasing to avoid buyer's remorse.
  
• Price comparisons - go in store with your mobile device and compare prices using kalahari.com. Consumers regularly find prices on kalahari.com exceptionally lower than those in store.
  
• Pre-order your gifts - be prepared and pre-order goods that have not even hit the shelves yet. This way you avoid disappointment and won't miss out.
  
• Keep organised - consider an app to keep track of your receipts and one to keep your holiday shopping lists handy. This will ensure your mobi purchases are organised and help you avoid overspending.
  
• Use retailers that have a dedicated mobile site as it's quicker to search and find what you're looking, and the site is formatted to be read easily on a small screen.