The Walgreens mobile app, already one of the most popular retailer apps in the marketplace with tens of millions of users nationwide, has garnered a particularly robust following among older Americans — a demographic rarely associated with mobile app adoption. Walgreens data show more than 20 percent of its app users are age 55 and
We’re talking about the future potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI), augmented reality, and automated drone delivery. We’re talking about beacons and smart mirrors and geolocation services. But really, the retail technology conversation needs to be happening at a more practical and immediate level. In South Africa, the bulk of purchasing power is in the hands
The African e-commerce sector is plagued by cash, with the majority of payments still being made in cash at the point of delivery. Understanding the impact of this challenge, Mastercard has partnered with Nigerian tech start-up, NetPlus to develop an e-commerce solution that will help make cash a thing of the past, for e-retailers and
First Data, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, announced the launch of Fraud Detect, a comprehensive fraud solution for merchants around the world. Fraud Detect leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning, fraud scoring, cybersecurity intelligence, and information from the Dark Web to provide merchants with the capability to detect fraudulent in-store, at the pump, online,
Monsoon is round the corner and MobiKwik is all set to bring exciting offers back! MobiKwik’s Monsoon Sale 2017 will have compelling deals and offers starting from 19th June to 25th June 2017 for their customers to save big. MobiKwik users can now get up to 50% off on Supercash through recharges and shopping. The
Wirecard Turkey, a subsidiary of the German based Wirecard AG which is a leading company for payment and internet technology, is now collaborating with Startsup, the operator of Aydanaya.com and the first company in Turkey to offer subscription-based e-commerce services and goods under a single roof. While making regular purchases that appeal to their taste
NCR Corporation leads the world in self-checkout (SCO), according to research published by strategic research and consulting firm RBR. According to RBR, NCR has been the overall market leader since 2003 and maintains its dominant position within the SCO market with 73 percent global shipment share in 2016. According to RBR’s “Global EPOS and Self-Checkout
PayU has rolled out strategies to intensify efforts to connect businesses to Nigeria’s online payment market. Annual online payments in Nigeria is estimated to surpass N200 billion this year from N167 billion in 2016. Country Manager of PayU Nigeria, Ms Juliet Nwanguma, says, “In order to pursue PayU’s aggressive expansion in the online payment market
Comprehensive shipping services for retailers including a multi-carrier solution SendCloud, a tool for the optimisation of shipping processes, is a new cooperative partner of the Wirecard Checkout Portal. The shipping tool reflects the trend which has seen many consumers demand increased flexibility and customisation in the field of online shopping. This also applies to shipping
Every month, South African retailers receive billions of Rands in payments from their customers. Behind the scenes, payments technology plays a critical role at retailers, ensuring a fast and smooth shopping experience. It’s a crucial part of our financial backbone that most consumers take little notice of despite interacting with it daily at stores, online
Africa’s online retail sector presents an exciting opportunity for retailers to grow their businesses by connecting with new customers. According to Jumia, Africa’s number one online retailer, the e-commerce sector must focus on delivering a stronger consumer experience if it is to reach its full potential of developing into a $50 billion industry by 2018.
Consumer, technology, trends and the future of South African retail were the pillars that made up the 2017 South African Council of Shopping Centre’s (SACSC) Research Conference. The conference, which is in its seventh year, saw more than 200 delegates who represent the country’s most respected companies and brands, in attendance. The conference highlighted the
The concept of ‘aspirations’ is not easily defined as each person has their own definition and understanding of the term. However, general consensus points towards improving one’s current state of living and improving the way one lives his or her life as the general definition. With the rapidly emerging black middle-class, consumer aspirations have become
New mCommerce platform enables mobile order and pay in retail stores by leveraging existing infrastructure. South Africa’s hyper-competitive hospitality and quick-service restaurant industry has just received a shake-up with the launch of Woolworths’ innovative NOW NOW concept, powered by mobile transacting technology specialists wiGroup. NOW NOW is built on a new mcommerce solution developed by
Tesco has announced it has extended Delivery Saver, its subscription service for online orders, introducing monthly membership plans. The new monthly plans offer customers the benefits and flexibility of Delivery Saver without having to commit to a six month or yearly plan. Customers can save up to £20 a month on a monthly plan* and
If you have gone to the effort of setting up and online store, you don’t want to undo all of your hard work by making the payment process so complicated that you scare away customers. Instead, you want to offer your customers as many easy ways to pay as possible through various ecommerce payment methods.
Three years ago, Walmart introduced its groundbreaking money transfer service, Walmart2Walmart Powered by Ria, with the goal of bringing customers dramatically lower costs and a simpler money transfer experience. Since that time, Walmart’s customers have enjoyed nearly half a billion dollars in fee savings through using this service, putting more hard-earned money back into their
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), on behalf of the banking industry has released its Card Fraud Stats for 2016, which reflects an overall increase in card fraud for 2016. Credit card fraud increased by 13% from R331.4m in 2015 to R374.4m in 2016, with debit card fraud increasing by 3.1% for the
South African eCommerce merchants can now finance their businesses easily and shoppers can make purchases on credit just as easily. This is the result of two collaborations entered into by PayU, SA’s largest online payment gateway. The collaborations, with leading merchant financing company, Lulalend, and consumer credit provider, Mobicred, are set to boost an eCommerce
NCR Corporation, a global leader in omni-channel solutions, has launched the NCR Silver family of point-of-sale (POS) solutions to Australian retail, service and restaurant merchants. NCR Silver is an integrated payment, marketing and management solution that can transform a tablet into a complete POS system, capable of sales reporting, employee management, inventory management and more.
Mastercard unveiled the next generation biometric card, combining chip technology with fingerprints to conveniently and safely verify the cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases. South Africa is the first market to test the evolved technology, with two separate trials recently concluded with Pick n Pay, a leading supermarket retailer, and Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays
Visa Inc, has become the first card network to enable participating issuers to provide their U.S. commercial accountholders a comprehensive view of their Amazon Business purchases. The new enhanced transaction data functionality, initially available to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi and PNC Bank, N.A., U.S. commercial accountholders through Amazon Business, provides full line-item details on Amazon
Amazon announced plans to create more than 5,000 new part-time roles over the next year in Virtual Customer Service, a program in the company’s award-winning customer service organization that offers employees the flexibility to work from home as a customer service agent. In addition to competitive wages, virtually-located employees who work 20 hours per week
Nielsen announced the official roll-out of its U.S. e-commerce measurement solution, delivering a comprehensive total consumer view of 90% of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) online sales within the U.S. market. Nielsen’s U.S. e-commerce solution is a multi-sourced tool that brings together robust data from a variety of resources to gain an accurate read of the
The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) announced at the PCI Middle East and Africa Forum, plans to evolve the PCI Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) program to attract new cyber talent globally and ensure its sustainability and quality in a changing payment environment. The initiative will be rolled out in phases, beginning in 2017 with
News outlets are taking notice of J.C. Penney, but locally-owned small businesses – the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” have been dealing with everything from big box stores to e-commerce. In the wake of 138 store closings announced by J.C. Penney plus another 150 Sears and Kmarts — most in small cities — national
The first self-service current account that anyone can open, activate online, and which is not subject to income conditions. Starting on 18 April 2017, consumers will have access to a completely new type of product: • C-zam, the first self-service current account that anyone can open and activate online, and which is not subject to
Tesco has announced it is extending its Same Day Click and Collect service, allowing customers to pick up their online groceries more quickly and easily than ever before. Customers can now order an unlimited number of items before 9am and book a two hour window to collect their groceries from midday onwards. This new slot
The customer journey has changed. As digital technology becomes ubiquitous in our everyday lives the way we discover, browse, select, and pay for goods and services continues to evolve. Multi-channel and omni-channel solutions are allowing customer to initiate the customer journey in one channel and complete it in another. This is causing new retail sales
During the six months to end December 2016 the Shoprite Group comfortably outperformed the rest of the South African market. Total turnover increased by 14% to R71.30bn while the trading profit rose by 19.2% to R3.91bn. Diluted headline earnings per share grew 15.5% to 460c and the board declared an interim dividend of 180c, up
Tesco has announced changes to the way it runs its Express convenience stores, as it continues to improve the shopping trip for its customers and simplify its business. The changes follow a successful trial in a number of its Express stores and will increase the overall number of colleagues serving customers. The changes focus on
For customers, time is money. To help customers save this new form of currency, Walmart announced new capabilities in the Walmart app that create a faster, easier and more convenient experience for Pharmacy and Money Services customers. Along with these expanded app features, Walmart will create a new store experience that allows customers to skip
Diaspora remittances, money transfers by migrants to their region or country of origin, are becoming increasingly important to the economies of a number of African countries. In Nigeria for example, remittances of about US$35 billion were expected in the last year. Diaspora remittances are the second biggest source of foreign exchange for Nigeria, and according
The payments business used to be simple, consumers would pay with cash or cheque and merchants would offer trusted customers credit, and even accept IOUs. Technology has marched on however, and credit cards, debit cards, prepaid vouchers, and store cards have all been added to the mix. Customers are even reaching a point where they
MyGate, one of South Africa’s leading online payment gateways has been voted the best online payment gateway in Africa for 2016 by the Corporate Vision Technology Innovator Awards. The 2016 Technology Innovator Awards were designed by Corporate Vision Magazine to recognise the individuals, departments, and firms behind ground-breaking developments in business and technology. MyGate offers
Speaking at the Retail Congress Africa in Cape Town recently, James House CEO of 5one, a global retail consultancy purchased by MasterCard in 2014, discussed how the evolving retail environment is changing the way retailers must engage with their customers. Customers are no longer relying on just one channel when making a purchase and this
The African chapter of the ATM Industry Association has published a commissioned study on retail payment trends in South Africa for its online member Market Intelligence Library. “With 12 million new consumers added to the economy in the last ten years, along with an expanded banked community, the payments pie is getting bigger and bigger,”
Visa is looking to displace cash in Africa wherever they can by introducing and familiarising people to various e-payment technologies. This is according to Mandy Lamb, Visa’s Country Manager for South Africa, who held a media briefing last week to discuss Visa’s plans in Africa. Mandy pointed out that one must no longer think of
The First Annual Retailers Payment Forum was held in Cape Town last week. Hosted by Calleo, a South African based payments consultancy and research firm, the event covered international and local trends in payments technology and showcased the challenges and opportunities for South African retailers. Attended by many of South Africa’s top retail groups including
South African banks are now all in full swing with their respective loyalty or rewards programs. In a highly competitive banking environment, where the large South African banks are doing whatever they can to attract customers across all LSM’s, rewards programs can be used to ensure that existing customers are not tempted to switch banks.
