A new study from Juniper Research has found that the adoption of mPOS (mobile Point-of-Sale) devices connecting wirelessly or via mobile devices, such as those from iZettle and Square, will drive annual mPOS transactions to over 87 billion by 2023. This will represent a threefold increase over an estimated 28 billion transactions in 2018. It
Nestlé South Africa has transformed its Mossel Bay dairy factory into a “zero water” manufacturing site. Over the past six years, the company has installed new water recovery, treatment and recycling technology at the factory which will enable it to re-use and recycle water from its dairy operations. Between 2008 and 2010, the Mossel Bay
Media24 will be the 51% owner of a new venture which will arise from a merger between Naspers-owned online fashion retailers Spree and Superbalist, the media company and Takealot announced on Monday. The merger of the two businesses into one entity seeks to create a “larger, more focused and economically sustainable platform on which to
RS South Africa opened its doors in 1996, the flagship operation in Africa with 22 years of experience distributing products and components to engineers around the African continent. RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers was founded as Radiospares, in 1937. The company started as a supplier of
Woolworths celebrates World Environment Day by announcing a number of measures to reduce plastic pollution as well as committing that by 2022 all of its own-brand plastic packaging will be reusable and recyclable. As the latest step in its Good Business Journey and in line with the Group’s vision to be one of the most
SPAR International has announced its entry into the Maltese retail market. Partnering with Malta’s leading FMCG company the Azzopardi Group, SPAR Malta will be part of SPAR International, the world’s largest food retail chain with over 12,777 stores in 48 countries and overall sales of up to €34.5 billion. The first store in Malta, a
Burger King SA announced that its 80th corporate restaurant has opened at the Kolonnade Retail Park in Tshwane on Friday, 8 June 2018. This is the 20th restaurant to be opened this financial year and the business is on track to open another 20 restaurants by the next financial year. Says Juan Klopper, COO of
Dis-Chem reaffirmed plans to open 200 stores in the next five years after making strong market share gains in the year to the end of February. In an investment presentation on Wednesday, Dis-Chem financial director Rui Morais said the company had increased market share across all categories. The dispensary business, which made up 36% of
Massmart’s second Urban Bookshelf has been launched in the township of Alexandra. The project, aimed at increasing access to books, is the second in a series of planned free miniature libraries across Johannesburg to promote reading and improve literacy. The first library was opened at Phefeni Recreation Centre in Orlando, Soweto in July 2017 and featured
This youth month Africa’s largest retailer is set to reach its target of empowering more than 12 000 youths (aged 18-29 years) to enter the retail sector or start their own business. Arguably the largest skills development initiative ever undertaken by a South African retailer, the Shoprite Group’s Retail Readiness programme launched in February 2016.
Digital River, Inc., a leading global provider of Commerce-as-a-Service solutions, announced it has been recognized by Gartner, Inc. as a Leader in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce. The company believes its placement in the Leaders quadrant for the second consecutive year reflects its ability to provide customers the scalable ecommerce technologies and services
Total South African retail sales for April 2018 grew by 3.7 percent year-on-year after removing the effects of inflation, showing the highest growth rate seen in April in the past six years. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse April 2018 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. The
Ingenico Group supported the roll-out of a secure biometric solution in Zambia in partnership with Paycode. This program allowed the distribution of 22 million dollars subsidies in rural Zambia within 3 months. Since 7 November 2017, the program has allowed registered farmers to access a government-funded program, the FISP subsidy, in which farmers make a
South Africa’s recently launched home improvement app, HomeFixer, has announced a partnership with Hirsch’s, one of South Africa’s most well-known independent home appliances and furniture store. HomeFixer Founder and Managing Director, Renaldo Bothma, says that the home improvement app is delighted to partner with one of South Africa’s most iconic brands: “We are proud to
The National Retail Federation, other retail groups and two of the nation’s best-known ATM networks have announced that they have formed a new coalition intended to improve the security of the U.S. electronic payments system ranging from credit and debit cards to emerging technology. “The payments system has to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology
Nielsen has announced that it will release Consumer Panel data fused with 2017 PAMS data in August this year, this is an enhanced survey that will provide the industry with rich information on 200 consumer goods categories and more than 5 000 brands. The study is being funded by the Publisher Research Council (PRC) and
Mastercard has revealed the insights from its research into the opportunities and challenges of Conversational Commerce. In its report – Is anybody there? Giving Conversational Commerce a voice, Mastercard reveals that consumers value convenience above all else and meeting their expectations is key to driving mass adoption of Conversational Commerce. With Conversational Commerce, consumers engage
Truecaller and Yum Deliveries, Nairobi’s premier online restaurant delivery service, announced today that they have partnered to provide an enhanced delivery experience by giving users more context to calls, and letting them know when their meal is about to reach them. Truecaller will now be able to show all customer care and logistics related calls
The Competition Tribunal has conditionally approved the merger comprising a series of inter-related steps which will consequently confer Remgro International Holdings (RIH) with sole control of Capevin and, ultimately, Distell. RIH is wholly-owned by Remgro Ltd. The merger will see the creation of a new entity controlled by Remgro Beverages Pty (Ltd.) and was approved
Shoprite has announced the launch of Shoprite Money – a new mobile transactional banking service which is available to everyone in South Africa, even those without existing bank accounts. Using their Shoprite Money mobile wallet, this new service will enable customers to deposit, withdraw or send money as well as buy groceries at any of
SPAR South Africa’s Eastern Cape (EC) division has declared war on plastic bags as the retailer spearheads a significant step forward in the battle to protect the environment. In a move which has been hailed by environmental groups as a major development, the SPAR EC team have launched an initiative to urge customers to consider
Digital loyalty service Loyalzoo has announced partnership in the US with payments industry leader Vantiv, now Worldpay. Using the Aevi open platform, Worldpay has rolled out SmartPay, a new line of smart terminal point-of-sale systems which now feature Loyalzoo’s loyalty software bundled on each terminal. Announcing the partnership, Worldpay’s Jon Pollock, SVP of Product Management,
Adobe has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Magento Commerce, a market-leading commerce platform, for $1.68 billion, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The addition of the Magento Commerce Cloud will enable commerce to be seamlessly integrated into the Adobe Experience Cloud, delivering a single platform that serves both B2B and B2C
Clicks Group will become the first major retailer in South Africa to provide fully employer-funded low-cost health insurance benefits for all its South African employees and the company’s CEO David Kneale is urging other corporates to follow suit in offering quality and affordable primary healthcare services to all staff. “While approximately 9 million South Africans
The future of retail became clear in 2017; it isn’t a destination, it is in fact a journey and that means adaptability, scalability, and experimentation are core tenets of viable platforms for the future and a priority in 2018. Retail organizations must orchestrate “best” engagement scenarios for consumers while optimizing productivity of assets, inventory, and
Diebold Nixdorf is displaying its latest retail innovations and technology at the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show, the largest annual gathering of the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry, May 19 – 22 in Chicago. Diebold Nixdorf will demonstrate how its new StorevolutionTM approach helps retailers navigate, evolve and thrive within the rapidly shifting retail environment
Nearly 80 percent (77) of globally surveyed merchants hold the view that real-time payments will replace the use of payment cards over time, according to new benchmark data, “2018 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants,” from ACI Worldwide and Ovum. Comprised of responses from executives across the retail, digital goods, hospitality, telecom and travel sectors, the
Taking a look at the fast-changing reality of retail, Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab presents: “Beyond smartphone shopping – the rise of smart assistants”. This report describes how connectivity is driving two major shifts in how people shop. The ongoing surge to use smartphones to pay for goods and services is leading to a second shift
McDonald’s, along with its franchisees, in the UK and Ireland has selected Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment, to handle the growth in demand for cashless transactions for the next five years. McDonald’s cites capacity, reliability, performance and security as the drivers for its Next Generation Cashless Solution. In the UK, electronic payments
Total South African retail sales for March 2018 grew by four percent year-on-year after removing the effects of inflation, marking the highest growth rate for retail spending since May 2013. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse March 2018 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. March’s retail performance
The fast food and quick service restaurant (QSR) sector continues to show steady growth on the back of what has been a tough economic climate in South Africa. With a contribution in access of 29%, QSR has by far the biggest share in franchising turnover. According to the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA), the
As millennials reach their late 20s and 30s, many are reaching their next step in life: parenthood. And findings from the spring edition of the National Retail Federation’s quarterly Consumer View report released today provide insight into how these new parents shop, spend and engage with brands differently than parents in other generations. “The millennial
Adyen, the payments platform of choice for the world’s leading companies, has partnered with Retail Pro International to help retailers provide the ultimate in-store experience for customers. The partnership will be rolled out across markets in Europe, Singapore and Australia, to deliver a unified retail experience for customers across all channels. Retail Pro software
Mastercard, Pick n Pay and FoodForward SA have announced a close working collaboration that is committed to donating 1.2 million meals to South Africans in need through an initiative called Tap to Feed. Between 07 May and 20 July 2018, every time a consumer makes a purchase at Pick n Pay with the ‘Tap &
Adyen, the payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading companies, released survey findings based on consumers’ and retailers’ wants and needs across the U.S. The survey was conducted by 451 Research in March 2018 and covered 1,003 US consumers aged 18 and above and 250 B2C retailers that operate in the US.
Mother’s Day spending is expected to total a near-record $23.1 billion this year, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. A total 86 percent of Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day and spend an average of $180 per person. “This year’s Mother’s Day forecast is one
Walmart is testing a new program called Check Out With Me in the Lawn & Garden Centers of more than 350 stores across the country, just in time for the busy spring season. Outfitted with cellular devices and Bluetooth printers, Lawn & Garden associates at these select stores can check out customers and provide a
Clicks Group reported continued strong growth in retail health and beauty sales, improved margins and robust cash flows for the six months to February 2018 as diluted headline earnings per share increased by 14.8%. Group turnover increased by 10% to R14.4 billion with the retailer generating cash inflows from operations of over R1.1 billion for
SPAR International, the world’s largest food retail voluntary chain, is delighted to announce the brand’s entry into the Sri Lankan retail market. SPAR Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, a partnership between SPAR South Africa and Ceylon Biscuits Limited has announced ambitious plans to open 50 new SPAR stores in Sri Lanka by 2023 primarily by developing
Total South African retail sales for February 2018 increased 3.5 percent year-on-year, after removing the effects of inflation. Compared to each of the five previous months of February, sales volumes were 4.6 percent higher on average. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse February 2018 report, which provides a macroeconomic analysis of retail spending trends
Making yet another technological leap in payments, IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity; Network International, the leading payment solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, and Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, have teamed up to launch a project to enable merchants to use smartphones to accept
How many times have you tried browsing for the perfect product but had to settle for a decent value purchase? Have you ever wished you knew how your mind works when it comes to determining whether a purchase has a good price-quality ratio or not? Obviously, we’ve all been there, and the grass always looks
More than 4 000 employees from the Shoprite Group’s fresh food departments will be upskilled as a result of the retailer’s latest training programme, which delineates a clear career path for all those working in, among others, its bakeries, delis, and fish departments. At the centre of this programme is the assistant chefs training course
Ingenico Group, the global leader in seamless payment, has announced that the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, KFC, has migrated its payments system in the U.S. to Ingenico Group’s Telium Semi-Integrated solution to simplify its path to EMV card acceptance and to reduce PCI compliance scope while providing their customers with more payment options
Vivo Energy Uganda has opened seven new Shell service stations in Uganda, bringing the total country network number to 140 service stations to date. Vivo Energy Uganda, the company that distributes and markets Shell branded fuels and lubricants, has invested in a programme to expand its retail network in Uganda as well as upgrade existing
Four years ago, Walmart changed the money transfer game with the introduction of Walmart2Walmart – a domestic money transfer service that offered dramatically lower costs that has since saved customers nearly $700 million in fees. Now, with MoneyGram International, Walmart is bringing its game-changing model to the global wire service market, with the launch of
CBX Softwarea leading provider of Product Lifecycle Management (retail PLM), global sourcing software and supply chain software for the retail industry, announced today the launch of their extended mobile suite of new and enhanced retail sourcing, quality and supply chain applications. The retail industry in today’s world is on the move and they’re increasingly using
Mobile Checkout, powered by the Macy’s app and designed to speed the in-store checkout process, is now slated for a nationwide rollout to all full-line stores by the end of this year. In addition, an augmented reality furniture shopping experience will be incorporated into the Macy’s app with a rollout beginning in April. Macy’s is
Easter spending is expected to total $18.2 billion this year, almost on par from a record $18.4 billion in 2017 but still the second-highest level on record, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. A total of 81 percent of Americans will celebrate the holiday
The Shoprite Group has launched a discount buying card to assist welfare organisations in their bid to stay afloat amidst trying economic times. The Act For Change card gives qualifying non-profit organisations (NPOs) access to a 5% discount across various Shoprite Group outlets. The NPOs have 30 days to pay with no interest. Further benefits
