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Gear Of The Year 2017 – Our readers’ top retail choices

With the rise of online stores, South Africans have more choice than ever in their shopping options.

Whether you’re looking for general online retailers or dedicated brick and mortar store where you can speak to knowledgeable staff, you really have myriad options.

With online stores popping up all the time, and grey market imports always being an option, where do South African consumers choose to spend their money?

Online Stores

Takealot sweeps top place with a mammoth 60.1% of the votes. Ever since its inception Takealot has done a lot to entice consumers, and its has grown to be the de facto online retail destination for many consumers. It’s basically our version of Amazon.

We have noted that Takealot doesn’t always offer goods online at the lowest prices, but the site always seems to have special offers on the go and it offers generally reliable customer service, which may explain why it tops out our survey, brand-recognition notwithstanding. To be frank, we don’t see Takealot being unseated as our readership’s top online retail choice for some time.

Loot lands deservedly in second place with 22.5% of the vote; their great daily deals surely earning them a lot of votes.

Superbalist arrived in 3rd place (part of Takealot) taking 17.4% of the vote.

Brick-And-Mortar Retailers

When it comes to physical stores, Makro wins in the consumer research with a decisive victory at 31.9%.

The sheer variety and relative low pricing of goods that Makro offers is very difficult to beat. This combined with their many store locations makes it an easy, single store to get everything you need. Even if you’re just doing your daily or monthly shop at a Makro, you will be enticed by the tech and more that they have on offer.

Game takes second place at 22.6% and Incredible Connections comes in third with 17.9% – a very impressive showing considering that the latter focuses on the technology only as opposed to Makro and Game with their broader range of offerings.

Staff Picks

Online: Raru

Raru really sets itself apart thanks to its UK and US import sections. While orders from overseas may take their time to arrive, the prices on offer her e are so good that you’ll forgive an extra week or two for shipping. Sometimes you can even find a cheaper option here for items officially sold in the country. They’ve impressed me in the past with their imported books and well stocked toy section.

Brick-And-Mortar:

If you’ve ever needed a SATA cable after yours failed or an ethernet card for when the one in your motherboard has blown, Matrix Warehouse is where you should go. Sure, the brands and prices they offer are a very mixed bag, but they’re extremely reliable for components you won’t find at other shops. They’re also reasonably priced for the smaller components and their number of locations means that there’s usually one near you when you need them.

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