OLX takes top spot in SA ecommerce stakes

Good news for Naspers shareholders: OLX, the online classifieds platform it bought a major stake in back in 2010, can now lay claim to being South Africa’s number one ecommerce platform.

OLX came out tops in a report released by global emerging markets research firm Jana. The Insights on the e-commerce preferences of African consumers survey was conducted across India, Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and South Africa. When respondents were asked what their favourite website was for purchasing goods, OLX came out tops in both South Africa and Kenya.

“With regard to security, OLX ads are moderated before they go live, enabling us to block hundreds of scams on a daily basis making OLX one of the safest places to find great deals,” says Bronwyn Johnson, Head of Marketing for OLX Africa. “People enjoy the fact that actual transaction takes place offline giving them control. With OLX users are able to negotiate with the seller to receive the best deal possible, whereas most online retail offerings have a set price with no room for negotiation.”

Since the launch of the OLX platform in January last year, Johnson says that the website has seen tremendous growth, with more than a million ads posted and thousands on a daily basis. “We believe that the quick uptake of the platform is due to the fact that we have a great service which is offered free, is always on, and is accessible on both mobile, tablet and PC and is one of the safest places to find great deals.”

Globally the OLX brand is one of the world’s leading free classifieds online platforms with over 100-million unique users, generating traffic of over 1.8-billion monthly page views or 60-million per day.

The report also revealed that over 53% of South Africans prefer cash-on-delivery as a method for payment when it comes to online purchases, and cited lack of security as the largest barrier to ecommerce usage, something it has in common with Nigeria, although perhaps to a lesser extent.