Kalahari has been identified as SA’s leading online retail brand. Kalahari was followed by Amazon, Bid or Buy, Woolworths, Gumtree, eBay and Olx.com. New entrant Zando has grown rapidly, achieving 9th position. This is according to a new report “Online Retail Brands Report – South Africa 2013” which has just been released by Acentric Marketing Research. The report is based on a survey, conducted in January 2013, amongst a scientifically-selected sample of online consumers, covering 59 online-retail brands and 28 product categories (see technical note).

In total 59 brands were ranked according to the Acentric Brand Model (ABM) Index, a measure of consumer-based brand equity. “The index strongly correlates with the size of a brand’s customer base. Nineteen attributes were covered, grouped into 7 major topics. These topics included: Product, service quality, price, functional benefits, delivery type, image and shopping enjoyment.” says Craig Kolb, consultant and owner of Acentric Marketing Research.

Kalahari achieved first position in terms of brand equity amongst 59 online retailers, and also had the largest market penetration. The top 20 online retailers in South Africa for 2012 are:

1.Kalahari

2.Amazon

3.Bid or Buy

4.Woolworths online

5.Gumtree

6.eBay

7.Olx.com

8.Pick n Pay online

9.Zando

10.Makro

11.Checkers online

12.Verimark

13.Homechoice

14.Takealot*

15.CNA online

16.Barnes & Noble

17.Netflorist

18.Take 2*

19.Dion

20.Herbalife

Kalahari came first due to its strong brand awareness and its strong-brand positioning. “While Amazon is slightly ahead in terms of awareness, the brand positioning is not as ideal. Although Amazon is perceived to be a strong performer in terms of the sheer size of its range and long history as a brand, it lacks in other important areas. Kalahari’s best performing attributes were fast delivery and easy ordering; although the model suggests it could do even better by focusing on other attributes such as product range.” says Kolb.

The brand that surprised the market this year is Zando. “Zando only launched in May 2012, yet Zando now occupies 9th position out of the 59 brands as of January 2013, which means they have grown their brand at an extraordinary rate. It is clear that they have also reaped the benefits in terms of high-market penetration.” says Kolb.

For more information and report purchases please see: http://www.acentric.co.za/ORB13.html 

Additional enquiries please email: info@acentric.co.za

Technical note: The survey was conducted in January 2013. A random sample of respondents was drawn from an ISO certified online panel. As is best practice, post-weighting was applied to correct non-response bias, in order to improve representation of the universe of online shoppers. In total 207 interviews were used in the analysis, providing a +-6.8% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.

* Please note: 1.) Take 2 changed its name to Takealot - however both names were included in the survey to avoid loss of information. 2.) While HMV was in operation during planning, this brand is no longer operational.