(5 December 2013) November is traditionally the Christmas shopping month on South African marketplace www.bobshop.co.za, and November 2013 saw an exceptional increase in the number of first time buyers attracted by the variety of products on offer and lower prices.

The Bob Shop CEO Jaco Jonker says that the number of first-time purchases made in November was more than double in comparison with the monthly average over the previous three months. While not all of the purchases new buyers made can be attributed to Christmas shopping, many of them have an unmistakably Christmassy feel.

The most popular products among the first-time shoppers in November were: jewellery and watches, with ladies’ rings and men’s watches in the forefront; various electronic devices and gadgets, for example MP3 Players, headphones and surveillance cameras; product for home like cookware, cutlery and small kitchen appliances; computers, notably tablets and laptops; and cell phones and smartphones.

In the fashion section, first-time buyers mainly went for women’s dresses, handbags and shoes, while as many as 25% of those who purchased a toy opted for an educational one.

Other popular choices among the new buyers included beauty products, sports equipment and video games.

More than three-quarters of online shoppers experiencing Bob Shop for the very first time made a purchase with an under R500 price tag. About 10% bought something priced between R500 and R1000 and 8% spent up to R3000. Several buyers, absolutely new to the Bob Shop online marketplace, splurged about R10,000 or more on their first-time purchase, going for items such as high-end laptops, furniture, diamond rings and camera lenses.

“Contrary to what may be expected, first-time purchases on Bob Shop are not always small items that are easy and cheap to ship. Some of the more recent ‘weighty’ fist-time purchases include beds, refrigerators, stoves, and so on”, says Bob Shop CEO.

Currently, www.bobshop.co.za houses about two million listings organised in over three thousand categories and subcategories.