
With ecommerce in South Africa less than 1% of general retail, NetFlorist is taking the e-tail market by storm by making its biggest sale ever. We have just signed, sealed and delivered their biggest order to date; a stunning 18kt white gold designer diamond ring valued at R45 000. With stumbling blocks in the ecommerce market, due to high delivery fees and concerns regarding online shopping security, this sale is ground-breaking for SA’s largest floral and gifting retailer.
An analysis done by PayFast, one of SA’s top payment gateways, found that the average basket size in South Africa stood around R725 per order, proving once more that this R45 000 order with us is showing substantial growth for the South African ecommerce market.
Ryan Bacher, managing director of NetFlorist, says that this ground-breaking sale “shows that customers are no longer nervous to spend that kind of money online if the value and trust are there. South African consumers are becoming increasingly more comfortable with e-commerce.”
The buyer of the diamond ring who lives and works in Saudi-Arabia, said that shopping online at NetFlorist was easy, convenient and reliable. Being a frequent shopper with us, the happy customer shared his unfortunate story (with a happy ending):
“I was unfortunate to have lost my job at the largest bank in South Africa in 2013. Getting another job was very difficult. My wife, being the person she is, sold most of her jewellery that she had accumulated during our marriage so that we could make ends meet. After 10 months, I was fortunate to find employment here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was not easy to uproot my entire family and move to Saudi and therefore, we decided that only I would relocate and the remainder of my family would stay behind in Johannesburg. Earning a fairly good tax-free salary, I could now buy my wife jewellery once more and replace those that she had sold during my unemployment. So I bought her another wedding ring, other gold and diamond jewellery and an expensive brand name watch. My family came to visit me here in Riyadh during the school year-end vacation, stayed for a month and left for home first week in January. My wife hired a taxi from OR Tambo to go home. On the way home, the taxi was pulled over by policemen on the highway. These so-called policemen then pulled out guns, threatened my wife and children, and took all my wife’s jewellery, watch and money she had with her. I wanted to replace at least something that was stolen. I could have bought the ring here in Saudi, but the problem is that companies such as FedEx and DHL do not courier jewellery to South Africa, so I looked around online. The best option I found was NetJewel (a division of NetFlorist). I have never been disappointed with the service I have received from NetFlorist and hence opted for it. Obviously I have not seen the ring in person myself, but my wife really loves it.”
This story shows not only that online shopping is a fast and convenient way to bring loved one’s closer together, but that South African Internet users are slowly but surely getting comfortable with purchasing goods online. This particular sale at NetFlorist shows that ecommerce in South Africa is growing, with more and more consumers putting their trust in the ecommerce market and are feeling more at ease when shopping online.
To view our range of stunning rings for women, simply visit www.netflorist.co.za and take your pick today!