As the New Year is starting to gather momentum after the holiday season, we start 2010 with a look back at the top searches for 2009 on PriceCheck.
The year will be in the history books for economic meltdowns and customers looking for more value for their money. The global credit crunch has impacted everyone and all industries.
Online Shopping worldwide has shown that the customer has been looking for the best deal now more than ever through coupons and deal of the day promotions. Greater numbers are seen in mobile shopping with shoppers using their handsets in retail stores to ensure that they really are getting the best deal. Mobile Shopping refers to shopping on mobile phones; I suspect that the growth in this avenue will be something to keep an eye on for shop owners and all involved with electronic commerce.
It is great to be able to witness the growth in online shopping in South Africa and the industry is growing as more and more users venture out and use local online shops. The convenience factor should not be forgotten as shopping online saves petrol, time and is safer than going to your local shopping mall.
In general, searches and product views were, once again, dominated by consumer electronics.
In the search department, very general and brand-specific searches were the most popular – typical of South Africans strange search habits in comparison to the top searches internationally.
Amongst the top searches are queries for pick n pay hypermarket, DStv PVR Decoder, Nokia and Huisgenoot Skouspel 2009 Tickets.Amongst the most searched categories were Cell Phones, Digital Cameras and LCD TVs.
With regards products, all but two in the top ten most popular products of 2009 were cell phones. The top ten were:
1. Samsung i900 Omnia
2. Apple iPhone 3G 8GB
3. Nokia N97
4. Nintendo Wii
5. Nokia 5000
6. Nokia E71
7. ghd MK4 Styler & Straightener
8. HTC Touch Diamond
9. Samsung Star
10. Apple iPhone 8GB
In other categories, the most popular items were:
– LCD TV: Sony Bravia KLV-40S400A
– MP3 Player: Apple iPod Touch 8GB
– Motorbike: Honda 2009 Honda CBR 125 R
– GPS Device: Garmin Nuvi 200
– Software: Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Edition
PriceCheck’s flight search served over 70 000 users in 2009 and the top destinations were:
Local Destinations
1. Cape Town
2. Johannesburg
3. Durban
International Destinations
1. London
2. Perth
3. Auckland
We are looking forward to a bumper 2010 and hope that the online shopping industry will help the consumer get more value for his/her Rands.
