Light in the Box is an online retailer with a variety of different products for sale, which South African consumers can order and have delivered to them.
An increasing amount of South African consumers are doing their shopping online.
Light in the Box is an online retailer that ships to South Africa. It is important to keep in mind that these shipments may take some time to process and deliver, and will likely include shipping charges.
Ecommerce in South Africa
The majority of South African consumers (more than 70 percent) now shop online at least once a month.
The online retail industry continues to grow in popularity, and with local and international companies improving their digital shopping experiences, the growth is sure to continue.
Customers can now buy almost anything online, from airtime and spare parts, to clothing and groceries.
Purchasing these items online, instead of in a traditional brick and mortar setting, means that consumers can shop at any time during the day and from whichever smart device they choose, wherever they are.
This makes online shopping much more convenient and saves consumers the time it would have taken to drive to and from the store.
Where is Light in the Box located in South Africa?
Light in the Box is a Chinese retailer that sells its products through an e-commerce platform. It has a variety of products, ranging from clothing and sports equipment, to baby items and outdoor products which customers can order from the website at affordable prices.
Since Light in the Box is an online business, they do not have any physical stores or headquarters in South Africa.
However, South African consumers can still order from the website and have the ordered items delivered to them, though this does take some time.
To have orders delivered to South Africa, customers have to wait for the delivery to make its way into the country, and there may also be certain shipping charges incurred for each order.
| Shop LightintheBox.com items here |
Shipping times for Light in the Box orders to South Africa
In order to estimate the time it will take for your Light in the Box order to arrive at your South African address, you have to add the transit time of your chosen shipping method to the processing time of the items that you have ordered.
The various transit timeframes for different shipping methods are as follows:
| Shipping method | Delivery time | Delivery time during peak seasons |
| Postal Service | 10-20 business days | 15-30 business days |
| Expedited Postal | 5-8 business days | – |
| Expedited Express | 3-5 business days | – |
It is important to remember that these delivery times are only an estimation of how long your order will take to reach the South African border.
They do not account for the amount of time it may take for customs to inspect and release your order, or how long courier services will take to deliver your order once it has been released by customs.
Processing time for different products from Light in the Box
The processing time listed on your order estimates the amount of time it will take for Light in the Box to pick and package the items you have ordered in the warehouse, and to have them shipped out to you.
Different categories of products on the website have different processing times and these include:
| Product category | Processing time (business days) |
| “Ships in 24hrs” products | Less than 24 hours |
| Weddings and Events | 10-14 |
| Home and Garden | 1-15 (dependant on the product) |
| Fashion | 14 |
| Electronics | 3-7 |
| Mobile Phones and Tablets | 2-5 |
| Health and Beauty | 1-25 (dependant on the product) |
| Sports and Hobbies | 5-15 |
| Sports and Outdoors | 3-26 (dependant on the product) |
| “MiniInTheBox” products | 1-5 |
Calculating shipping charges for Light in the Box orders
Estimating the shipping charges for your order can only be done once you have picked your desired items and shipping method. Thus, you will only be able to see your shipping charges at the end of the checkout process.
The steps to reach this stage of the checkout process are as follows:
- Step 1: Add all of the items you would like to order to your virtual shopping cart
- Step 2: Click the “Proceed to checkout” button
- Step 3: Fill in your shipping address information in the required fields
- Step 4: Select your desired shipping method
The shipping charges will be indicated next to each of the shipping method options.
Final thoughts
Many South African consumers find it convenient and quicker to do their shopping online.
Light in the Box is an online retailer where South African customers can shop, and after a period of time and fees incurred, have their orders delivered.
