The pandemic fuelled an online shopping boom in South Africa that resulted in e-commerce sales rising 66 percent in 2020, compared to the year earlier, according to a new report by technology research firm, World Wide Worx.

Online sales in the country have more than doubled within the past two years to 30.2 billion rand ($2.14 billion) as consumers become more accustomed to buying goods and services online, particularly after the country locked down in March 2020 in response to its Covid-19 outbreak.

The growth came concurrently with a slump in traditional retail last year, brought on by those same Covid-19 lockdowns and associated job and economic losses.

The report forecasts total online sales in South Africa will reach about 42 billion rand ($2.98 billion) in 2021.