Online shopping in South Africa was definitely late-in-taking, and to a certain extent people are still wary of buying goods online, but after a bumper 2005, were online sales figures up from last year? I’m almost certain of it. South Africans are becoming more internet-savvy, and buying goods online has almost become as normal as jumping in your car and driving down the road to the local shopping mall.

e-tailers vs re-tailers
When you go shopping at the mall, you compare prices, insist on excellent customer service, make sure there are return policies in place, check the cleaniness of the store and so on… Do you do the same online? If not, why not? ShopIt.

Comparing prices online is pretty difficult in South Africa. In the USA they have websites that compare prices, stock levels, delivery costs etc. All you have to do is click the link to buy. Here we have to search for online shops, check their availabilty and delivery costs, then hack around trying to find all the info all over again for the next shop. ShopIt.

When you receive crumby customer service in the mall, you vote with your feet and leave. You tell your friends and they sometimes follow suit. But is their such a thing as e-tailer customer service? I mean, there aren’t any shop assistants for you to ask questions, or cashiers to make mistakes ringing up your bill. Online service has different categories to measure customer service against. Speed of website, ease of paying, email response time etc. Who knows any of these stats? Has anyone ever complained about these things? ShopIt.

ShopIt.
Yes, ShopIt is coming. ShopIt might do all of the things noted above. It might not. ShopIt will help you with your online shopping, just the same as a friend would recommend their favourite shops and reasons why.

When will ShopIt be ready?
ShopIt is being developed as we speak. My after hours are filled with it’s development. You won’t be waiting long… (If you plan on waiting at all! :-))

What is ShopIt?
Think of it as a person that would help you do your shopping at the mall, but for online shopping. Think of it as a person who has had personal experience at shopping at most of the shops in the mall, but for online shopping. It could be helpful to you, it could help you learn how to shop online. Who knows?

I will keep my blog posted on its development, but until then, hold tight! :-)