I’m willing to bet I hate shopping malls more than the large majority of the population.

Carting around bags, wailing toddlers, stuffy change rooms, staff giving you the evil eye when you ruin one of their fold jobs – not for me thanks, if it can be bought online then that’s exactly where it’s gonna happen.

It appears that I’m not alone though, because (according to an EM e-Commerce Industry Report) 56% of South Africans who shop online do so on a weekly or monthly basis.

So what are the top 10 online purchases that South Africans are forking out for? Here’s BusinessTech:

• Books (29%)
• Tickets for events (28%)
• Travel tickets (28%)
• Hotel reservations (22%)
• DVDs, videos, or music (22%)
• Software (19%)
• Holiday Packages (16%)
• Clothes and accessories (14%)
• Flowers and gifts (12%)
• Toys and games (10%)

Look at us go, what a bunch of bookworms.

Our increasing willingness to shop online is down to a number of reasons, but perhaps we should also give some credit to our local retail sites.

Check out THIS range of books available with a few clicks, and the same goes for DVDs (HERE).

Go on, take your fingertips for a stroll through local retail giant Loot, you’ll be amazed at the novel ways you’ll find to spend money.

[source:businesstech]