(9 December 2011) Around 30,000 products were sold on Bob Shop over the last week, with notable growth being seen in the Toys, Fashion, Home and Electronics categories. CEO of South Africa’s online marketplace, Jaco Jonker, attributes the growth in sales in these categories to an increase in Christmas shopping.

“People come to Bob Shop in the run up to Christmas in order to avoid the shopping mall mayhem and to take advantage of the sheer variety of items to be found on the site. But more than anything else, they come for lower prices, looking for the most budget-friendly way to fill the Christmas stockings”, adds Jaco Jonker.

Recently voted the public’s favourite e-commerce website and winning the best e-commerce services website in the 2011 South African e-commerce Awards, Bob Shop has proven itself as a dominant force in the online shopping space.

With over 850,000 items on offer from every imaginable line of products, bobshop.co.za offers a good insight into the Christmas 2011 behaviour of South African internet shoppers.

The six most popular gifting categories on the site are jewellery and watches, toys, home and living, electronics, fashion items and computers.
Jewellery and watches are always a popular gifting option, and it seems that Bob Shopers are finding great deals for their loved ones this season. Over the past week, almost three thousand watches, rings, earrings, bangles, pendants and other pieces of jewellery were sold on Bob Shop for prices ranging from R1 to over R30,000, indicating the great range available on the site.

The toys category is experiencing an explosion in sales. Parents, grandparents and relatives seem to be racing to place their orders for the little ones in good time. When shopping for children, the grown-ups are most likely to reach for board games, ride-on cars, models, radio control helicopters or cars, and educational toys.

In the home and living category, small kitchen appliances as well as home decorative items seem to be the most popular choices for gifts, while casual dresses, sunglasses, handbags and lingerie top the list as the hottest sellers in the fashion category this season.

The biggest sellers in the computer category this season include, iPads and other tablet devices and accessories, closely followed by laptops.  The big winners in the electronics category are MP3 players, eBook readers and other digital gadgets.

For those who have yet to decide about what Christmas gifts to get for their nearest and dearest, take the hint from the over one million shoppers who visit Bob Shop each month: BlackBerry Smartphones, iPhones, iPads and Kindles are the most coveted products over this festive season, according to top searches on bobshop.co.za.