The e-commerce market in South Africa is growing at a pace of between 25 and 35% year-on-year, but remains relatively small valued at around R6 million - 7 million (US$440,144 - US$513,501), according to uAfrica.com.

The results of an e-commerce survey conducted by cloud e-commerce services provider uAfrica.com show that despite the relatively low value of the South African e-commerce market, online shopping nonetheless accounts for 1% of the retail sector as a whole, and taken together with the year-on-year growth rate, "the South African e-commerce sector is now certainly nothing for investors to scoff at".

"E-commerce in constantly evolving in South Africa. The way consumers shop online, and what they buy defines what they expect from online stores. We are seeing online merchants taking up the challenge and evolving with their customers," says Andy Higgins, managing director (MD) of uAfrica.com.

The survey gathered statistics from over 90,000 respondents, mostly from South Africa, revealing a number of trends about the online shopping market in the country.

The survey shows the majority of online shoppers are women aged between 18 to 39; while 28% of shoppers make online purchases using their mobile phones.

The majority of South African online shoppers spend between R250 (US$18.30) and R1,000 (US$73.30) when making a purchase online; and 33% of survey respondents make 10 or more purchases online per year.

Additional analysis conducted with South African payment gateway PayFast found that the average basket size in South Africa stands at around R725 (US$53.20) per order; and 70% of all online transactions are paid for with a credit or cheque card.

As for the busiest times for online stores, the survey found that shopping surged after the 25th of each month.

The survey forms part of the 10th annual South African E-commerce Awards, to be held on September 16.