Kalahari.net best of the best again

“The 2007 awards were a runaway success, with new entries joining in the running as well as a clear indication that the standard of local e-commerce stores have vastly improved from the previous year's selection,” says Albert Bredenhann, MD of Jump Shopping, the initiator of the South African e-Commerce Awards.

The awards seek to acknowledge South African e-commerce stores displaying impressive growth and increased activity accordingly. 2007 see's the awards' second season and boasted more than 17 000 votes by the public for their preferred online stores. Including the public during the nomination process ensured a fair and diverse selection of entrants into the competition, of which these nominations were shortlisted and once again presented to the public for final voting over the course of one month. The votes for each nomination were then presented to a panel of judges for moderation and final winner selection.

The full list of winners:

Best Auction Website:
Bid or Buy (www.bidorbuy.co.za)

Best Automotive Website:
Autostyle (www.autostyle.co.za)

Best Online Bookstore:
Kalahari.net (www.kalahari.net)

Best Clothing and Accessories Store:
Rebel Rock (www.rebelrock.co.za)

Best Computer Store:
Digital Planet (www.digitalplanet.co.za)

Best Electronics Store:
WebAntics Online (www.webantics.co.za)

Best Flower and Gift Store:
Netflorist (www.netflorist.co.za)

Best Food and Wine Store:
Woolworths (www.woolworths.co.za)

Best Game Store:
BT Games (www.btgames.co.za)

Best Health and Beauty Store:
Manology (www.manology.co.za)

Best Home and Garden Store:
YuppieChef (www.yuppiechef.co.za)

Best Jewelry and Watches Store:
Kalahari.net (www.kalahari.net)

Best Kids and Baby Store:
eDreams (www.edreams.co.za)

Best Music and Movie Store:
Musica (www.musica.co.za)

Best Photographic Store:
SA Camera (www.sacamera.co.za)

Best Property Website:
Private Property (www.privateproperty.co.za)

Best Sports and Outdoor Store:
Sportstuff (www.sportstuff.co.za)

Best Travel Booking Website:
SafariNow (www.safarinow.com)

Best E-Commerce Enabler:
iGroup (www.igroup.co.za)

Best E-Commerce Website:

Kalahari.net (www.kalahari.net)

Bredenhann expects to see an e-commerce boom hit the market within the next two years, due to the increased access to broadband as well as the entrance of offline stores joining the online arena.

Matthew Buckland, GM of the Mail & Guardian Online, agrees: “E-commerce in South Africa is definitely on the right track and with the anticipated growth of broadband penetration in South Africa, I think we can expect great things from online shopping in the next two years.” Buckland was one of the judges at this year's awards.