Gray dispels the notion that South African B2C e-commerce figures are still artificially high through coming off a low base, saying that the industry has been seeing these growth figures for several years now. When there were fewer than 100 transactions in July 1997, that was a low base. The next step in the e-commerce explosion, believes Gray, will be in bringing bigger brands into the equation. This will entrench the growing trust people are developing in the medium. Today it's becoming increasingly common as consumers find that e-commerce actually works, and that it adds materially to their quality of life.
Analysts warn that it's e-business or no business in the digital economy.