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The e-tailer sold around 30,0000 products last week, and according to CEO Jaco Jonker, the six most popular gifting categories on the site are jewellery and watches, toys, home and living, electronics, fashion items and computers.

bidorbuy has proven itself as a dominant force in the online shopping space by winning the best e-commerce services website in the 2011 South African e-commerce Awards.

Online retail sales have shown a steady increase over the last five years in SA as cyber shopping becomes a haven for consumption in comfort for the time-poor and techno-savvy.

According to a survey by South African market research specialists Columinate, convenience was the top reason why shoppers preferred purchasing products online.

By global standards, the e-commerce platform in SA is small, but the one-time timidness of South African shoppers has taken a backseat as an increasing amount of people turn to the net for retail therapy and bargain hunting.

A research report by World Wide Worx released earlier this year said online retailers were bullish about 2011, with industry consensus pointing to 40% growth this year - representing the highest rate of growth for online retail in South Africa in almost a decade.

"This dramatic rise in online retail comes in the wake of an ongoing increase in the number of experienced Internet users in South Africa," said Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx and principal analyst for the Online Retail in SA 2011.

Henk Pretorius, senior online research specialist at Columinate said that the most popular online purchase categories in Columinate survey during the holiday period seemed to be travel at 37%, electronics and technology at 21%, and health and beauty at 16%.

Meanwhile SA's largest online retailer, kalahari.com revealed that online shopping was set for a robust increase this festive season.

"We predict an online sales growth of up to 30% over the holiday period confirming e-commerce's resilience in the face of an uneasy global economic climate," Gary Novitzkas, CEO of kalahari.com. said.

Novitzkas noted that financial constraints facing South Africans could be one of the drivers leading more consumers online for their year-end spending.        

"Consumers have become very conscious of how they spend their money and realise there are huge savings to be found online," he commented.