Following the success of our first ever PayFast Ecommerce Performance (PEP) Index last year, we’re pleased to announce the launch of our second annual PEP Index. The new report once again comprises expert insights from some of our trusted partners, and an analysis of payment, merchant and buyer data sourced from PayFast platforms over the past year.
The 2021 edition of the report focuses on the ecommerce year that was and how the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise of contactless payments and social commerce has significantly altered consumer expectations when it comes to making purchases online.
We’ve found that over the course of the year, South Africa’s retail industry has adapted to constantly changing lockdown restrictions, and ever-evolving customer experience requirements. Rising to the challenge, local businesses have taken the opportunity to invest in ecommerce upgrades and expand into new digital frontiers.
What’s included in the PEP Index 2021
For the 2021 edition of the PEP Index, we conducted interviews with some of our biggest and most trusted partners, including:
- Financial service provider Mastercard
- Mobile payment solution SnapScan
- South Africa’s first digital bank TymeBank
- Shopping cart solution Ecwid
- Cloud-based accounting software platform Xero
- SME funder Retail Capital
Each of these representatives offers their insights on some of the hottest ecommerce trends of 2021, including contactless payments, digital banking, social commerce and more.
The report also contains key industry, payment and buyer data sourced from PayFast platforms over the past year, specifically:
- Payment data collected from the PayFast payments engine from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021
- Buyer data collected from the PayFast payments engine from 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021
- An online survey conducted with PayFast merchants in September 2021
These data points provide an interesting overview of the behaviour of online shoppers in South Africa that can help you with your online business’ decision making in the year ahead.
Download the report now to find out what we unveiled over the past year, and what some of our, and our partners, ecommerce predictions are for 2022.
We hope you enjoy going through this report and you find value in it to help your online business succeed.
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