Tablets and eReaders dominate Kalahari sales

A post festive season sales report by kalahari.com has revealed that tablets were the second most purchased electronic devices on the site. The report further revealed that the gobbi eReader was the most bought device, signalling that shoppers are looking for more affordable tablets.

While the eTailers pre-festive season shopping survey predicted the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy tablets as the most coveted gifts. The actual buying trends from the period show that entry-level tablets were the most purchased items over this period.

Tablets came second only to the gobii eReader as the highest selling device on kalahari.com. Interestingly, the Google Nexus 7 beat the Apple iPad as the favourite among customers followed by other entry level tablets like the Coby and Prestigio 7 inch tablets.

‚”The high sales of eReaders and entry level tablets signal a growing eContent market in South Africa. Not all shoppers can afford the top of the range brands, but there is definitely a need for eContent and convenience offered by these devices, which explains the astonishing uptake of devices such as the gobii and more affordable tablet devices. We also think that more parents are buying the devices for kids as interactive and educational tools which could also explain the sales spike just before back-to school period,‚” says Liz Hillock, head of marketing at kalahari.com

Hillock goes on to say that regardless of which brand came out tops in terms of sales, there is no longer denying the popularity of tablets with SA shoppers. ‚”Tablets are fast becoming a more convenient way to access internet and shop online for South Africans, a trend we noticed in our 2012 mobile shopping survey that analysed the shopping habits of 4 000 of South Africa’s shoppers.‚”

‚”According to GfK, one of the world’s leading market research companies, tablets in the local tech market has grown from claiming 18% of the webbook and mobile PC market to a 26% share from February 2012 to March 2012. In terms of traffic on kalahari.com, PC and mobile remain the predominant drivers of traffic. However there has been a marked increase in traffic coming via tablet devices which translates to a 300% increase from November 2011 to November 2012,”adds Hillock.

While the Nexus and other entry level devices outstripped the sale of Apple iPad on kalahari.com, it’s interesting to note the highest traffic still came from iPad users.

According to the kalahari.com 2012 mobile shopping survey, 73.4% of tablet owners said that they were already using the devices to shop online. ‚” Based on the online traffic coming from tablets over the festive period and the number of the devices purchased we are sure that tablets are going to continue to fuel the growth of e-Commerce in 2013,‚” concludes Hillock.

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