Market Trends of South Africa Air Freight Industry
E-commerce Expansion Possibilities for Growth in the Air Freight Sector
After the pandemic, online retail and e-commerce increased by 20% yearly. Consumers' use of Internet purchasing increased significantly, according to retailers. To compete with online merchants, traditional brick-and-mortar establishments sought omnichannel opportunities. Between April and June 2020, clothing retailers in South Africa experienced a massive increase in online sales. Another South African internet business, OneDayOnly, experienced 40% growth within the same time period, and this success story is comparable.
According to the "2022 South African Digital Customer Experience Report," 10% of all online purchases are made directly through social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.
As businesses experience increased traffic to their websites and applications (apps), they must ensure convenience for users of their e-commerce platforms.
Growing Demand for the Air Freight Market
With IATA data showing strong and stable performance in June, the air freight business is expected to continue its upward trend in 2022. 2.2% more air freight was demanded in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of 2019 before COVID. That's an impressive achievement, especially in light of the ongoing supply chain limitations and the capacity loss caused by the conflict in Ukraine. The demand for air cargo has not been significantly impacted by the current economic uncertainty, but in the second half, events will need to be carefully watched.
African airlines saw cargo volumes increase by 5.7% in June 2022 compared to June 2021. As with carriers in Latin America, airlines in this region have shown optimism by introducing additional capacity. Capacity was 10.3% above June 2021 levels. Demand for the first half-year was 2.9% above 2021 levels and half-year capacity was 6.9% above 2021 levels.
