South Africas Internet market is expected to grow to ZAR 103bn (EUR 10.2bn) by 2016, accounting for 2.5% of the projected gross domestic product, from ZAR 51bn in 2010, according to a survey by management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, TechCentral reported. South Africas Internet economy is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 12.6%, compared to an average of 17.8% in the other developing economies, the report said. In 2010, developed markets contributed 76% to the Internet economy of the G20 major economies, but the Boston Consulting Group expects this figure to fall to 66% by 2016. Internet retail sales in South Africa contributed just 1.2% of total retail sales in 2010, and this is projected to grow marginally to 1.5% by 2016. The Internet influences only an additional 1.2% of total retail from connected consumers researching online and purchasing offline. This compares poorly to other emerging markets such as Brazil with 4% and Russia with 4.8%. As part of the survey, Boston Consulting Group asked South Africans how much they would have to be paid to live without Internet access and the average answer was nearly ZAR 10,000 a year, or three times more than they pay for access and services. Asked what they would forgo for a year in order to keep Internet access, 13% of South African online consumers said they would forgo showering, 74% would forgo chocolate, 63% coffee, and 77% would give up alcohol. |
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