In the age of big data, the Shoprite Group is at the forefront of innovating with artificial intelligence (AI). As one of the world’s leanest and most advanced retailers here are three leading innovations which have had a marked impact on the Group’s operations as it continues to create the best possible customer experience: Ensuring
Black Friday is the most anticipated shopping day of the year, with many consumers planning ahead to make the most of discounted deals. For retailers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the beginning of the festive shopping season and are an opportunity to boost and maximise revenue and attract new customers to their brands with irresistible
With seven low calorie/low kilojoule carbonated cold drinks in its stable, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), continues to offer consumers choice despite recent changes to its product portfolio. Two years ago, TCCC announced that it would retire select products in various markets around the world as part of a global portfolio refresh. According to Silke Bucker,
By Peter Ludi, Business Development Director at redPanda Software Improving time to value (TTV), the length of time it takes a new customer to realise and extract value from a product or service, has to be a major priority for savvy retailers. Working with an experienced partner can enable the retailer to rapidly get to
After two consecutive years of month-long Black November deals, due to the Covid pandemic, Game is returning to its one-day Black Friday sale and bringing back midnight openings in 2022, as consumer shopping habits continue to return to normal after Covid-19. The retailer will open most of their 108 stores across the country from 00:00
Shoprite’s mobile application, with the Money Market Account functionality at its core, is the winner of Most Innovative Solution and App of the Year at this year’s MTN Business App of the Year Awards. The app supports Shoprite’s Money Market Account, a fully-fledged, transactional bank account – the first by a SA retailer – and the lowest-cost bank entry-level
Partnership to provide unparalleled, frictionless customer experience to MEA customers. During GITEX Global 2022 this week Uniphore, the leader in Conversational AI and Automation, announced a strategic partnership with Avaya (NYSE:AVYA), a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, to bring its integrated Conversational AI and communications platform to customers across
Woolworths will become the first retailer in South Africa to offer an integrated omnichannel shopping experience through their app. The upgrade will see the retailer’s two digital apps, Woolies Dash, its popular on-demand service, and the Woolies App, its main mobile app, integrate into one shopping platform, with a key focus on offering customers an
Shareholders are referred to the Stock Exchange News Service announcement on 13 April 2022 (Announcement) regarding the acquisition by Mr Price of 70% of the issued share capital of Blue Falcon Trading 188 (Proprietary) Limited, which owns the Studio 88 Group of businesses (Studio 88 Group or Business), from RMB Ventures Six (Proprietary) Limited (RMB
Makro mRewards partners with Standard Bank UCount Rewards & Caltex to ease the fuel burden. As of 16 September 2022, Makro, one of South Africa’s longest standing retailers will offer its mRewards members up to R10* back in Rewards Points per litre of fuel and oil at participating Caltex forecourts around the country. According to
MACmobile, leading provider of cloud-based solutions for the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) space, has launched MAC eCom Platform, an end-to-end eCommerce platform developed specifically to bring digital transformation to South African general trade and the main market space. MAC eCom Platform offers a complete B2B platform with built-in warehousing, distribution, and sales modules to allow
By working together, Pick n Pay and Mr D have just made online grocery shopping much better, easier, and more exciting for customers. Using the Mr D app, all your favourite Pick n Pay products can now be delivered right to your door. By bringing together the best of Pick n Pay and Mr D,
The popularity of rewards programs among South Africans remains high, as many consumers continue to seek ways to stretch their pockets, and find ways to make the most out of their everyday purchases. As a result of this popularity, more and more South African brands are including rewards as part of their customer relations strategy.
SPAR International has announced a worldwide partnership with food tech company Whywaste to support their food waste reduction strategy at retail. SPAR country organisations will be able to use Whywaste’s digital solutions in their day-to-day operations to reduce food waste in stores. Portfolio of solutions Whywaste provides a portfolio of solutions that addresses food waste-related
As South African consumers continue to turn to private brand products to make their money go further, Massmart’s ‘M’ frozen convenience offering has experienced exciting growth of over 30% at Makro between January and June this year. ‘M’ is of equivalent quality to leading brands in the same categories and the brand is aggressively developing
SPAR Athienitis, situated in the Fife Avenue shopping centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, has reopened its doors after extensive renovations. The new-look SPAR Supermarket boasts wider shopping aisles, an increased range, and a new gifting and home décor section The store has undergone a significant transformation, with an increase of 600m2 (about twice the area of
The impact that online – in all its facets – has on offline sales is much greater than perceived This year the fourth 2022 South African Digital Customer Experience Report reveals the phenomenal impact that the combination of social selling, reviews and online browsing – in all of its facets – has on offline sales:
“Convenience” is no longer just a buzzword in online retail– it’s everything. The e-commerce explosion in the past two years, both internationally and in South Africa, has heightened customer expectations to the extent that failing to deliver online orders on time can literally make or break a business. Retailers that don’t shape up in terms
Africa’s Largest B2B E-Commerce Network Becomes Official Private Sector Ambassador for “Silicon Zanzibar” Initiative Wasoko, the African e-commerce company leveraging innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has announced the official launch of the “Wasoko Innovation Hub” in partnership with the Zanzibar government. Located in Fumba Town, Zanzibar, the new Hub will focus on
NCR’s Retail team was recognized at the 2022 Retail Systems Awards for Partnership of the Year for its relationship with Iceland. Iceland Foods is one of the fastest growing and most innovative retailers in the UK. These awards are sponsored by Retail Systems, a website for senior-level technology and business decision-makers in retail and e-commerce.
Mike Smollan, Chief Growth and Innovation Officer at Smollan looks at retail trends for the third and fourth quarters of this year and beyond, and what these means for growth Gears switched at the beginning of 2022 as we entered a new phase in a retail eco-system that was still massaging aches and pains and
Rosebank Mall is home to an innovative new store which is so much more than it first appears to be! Re-purposing is fast becoming a way of life and the tech space should be no exception. With this in mind, David Hirsch – CEO of TechMarkit – has introduced his very own brand of pre-loved
General dealers have emerged as the most resilient sector in South African retail, growing sales 14.6% in real terms from January to May 2022 and winning a greater share of the cash-strapped consumer’s wallet. Their strong performance in a struggling retail sector can be largely attributed to consumers’ spending more of their incomes on necessities
By Leon Jacobs, Chief Information Officer at RCS Driven by the engine of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), digitisation was already gaining significant traction before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it accelerated faster in two years than it had in almost a decade. The transition to a more digitised reality affected industries across
The high cost of food is a subject on everyone’s lips. Reasons for the increases range from the war in Ukraine to the weaker rand, and natural disasters such as the floods in KwaZulu-Natal – a province in which many South African factories are situated. JustMoney, which helps South Africans to educate themselves about managing
The overwhelming success of loyalty programmes amongst South Africa’s big retailers has encouraged many mid-tier brands to roll out their own offerings. While these can only help to attract and retain customers, many are missing out on the benefits of running the built-in loyalty programmes offered by QR payment platforms in tandem with their own.
Our leading-edge Speech Analytics solution is custom-made for the South African market and can help transform your contact centre performance, taking your customer experience to the next level. Your contact centre is one of your company’s most valuable touch points when it comes to delivering an excellent customer experience. With rapid advances in technology, the
A loyal customer base is good for business. But how do you ensure customer loyalty and how can you both retain and grow your customer base? According to numerous studies and insights, one of the most valuable investments your company can make in terms of both retaining and gaining customers is to have an effective
Dis-Chem rolls out new WhatsApp chat channel delivering self-help services and loyalty programme management over chat Clickatell, a CPaaS innovator and Chat Commerce leader, has been selected by leading South African retailer, Dis-Chem Pharmacies, to enable WhatsApp as its customer communication channel to engage with its customers. Dis-Chem customers can now quickly and easily access
Despite a challenging 18 months fuelled by the pandemic for the retail sector, customer-focused innovation has remained a top priority for retail giant Massmart. The retail group partnered with credit solutions provider RCS to unlock value for its customers amid a tough economic climate. Gavin Lomberg, Chief Commercial Officer at RCS – South Africa’s leading
Until the 26th of March 2020, when South Africa entered the COVID-19 induced hard lockdown, the week after the 25th of the month was the busiest week for retailers. Also known as payday week, sales were 11.6% higher than any other week of the month followed by the first week of the month that was
Infobip, a global cloud communication company for businesses and a leader in omnichannel customer engagement, has deployed an omnichannel platform for Stima Sacco, the second-biggest saving and credit cooperative in Africa. This platform enables the organisation to enhance customer engagement and thus improve customer experience. Client Background Stima DT Savings and Credit Cooperative Society Limited
Opinion Piece: By Raeford Liebenberg, Manager at Silvermoon, a Galix company South Africa’s hospitality sector was hard-hit by the 2020 lockdowns and is still feeling the impact two years later. Even though restrictions have lifted somewhat, international tourism is a fraction of what it was. This means that the market is more competitive than ever,
The numbers speak for themselves. Prioritising customer experience and delivering a good end-to-end customer journey can and will positively impact your business and make it a key differentiator from your competitors. It is no surprise that customer experience (CX) is becoming a priority for businesses that realise that retaining and growing their customer base goes
Chatbots as we know them are evolving. The generic bot found on many websites isn’t fit for many of the purposes it’s been deployed for. But now, chatbots are specialising to better meet the variety of roles they can fill – if correctly programmed. We’re seeing three different types of bots. The first is an
South African companies are inherently innovative and many local brands are keen to engage with new technologies to better serve their customers. Mobile communications and Chat Commerce specialist, Clickatell, looks at the rapid growth of Chat Commerce in South Africa and shares some advice for companies considering adding chat to their omni-channel offering. The days
When you give your sales team the right tools to effectively and efficiently manage clients and build a relationship with them, you positively impact your bottom line. 1Stream’s smart CRM is specifically designed to do just that and has helped transform organisations across various sectors in Southern Africa, which understand the value of building meaningful
While there is still a significant disconnect in South Africa between digital-savvy shoppers and those who make purchases in-store, the pandemic and lockdown conditions have narrowed the gap. That does not mean retailers can rest on their laurels when it comes to the customer experience. Research shows that given the variety of apps available to
MoData, a leading provider of innovative, intuitive and intelligent digital business solutions for the financial services, insurance, telcon and retail sectors, has announced a collaboration with Resistant AI to help financial services safeguard themselves and customers against fraud. Resistant AI uses artificial intelligence to help financial services companies combat fraud and financial crime. The partnership
Putting customer experience front and centre of your business goals is guaranteed to reap rewards for both customers and staff and positively impact your bottom line. The most effective way to do this is to take a holistic approach to customer experience management (CEM) through the implementation of a streamlined omni-channel application platform that keeps
Understanding how shoppers think and behave over busy holiday shopping periods can be extremely helpful for brands and retail platforms in order to enhance their customer shopping experience, be it online or in-store. With the retail landscape shifting in a pandemic environment, businesses are looking for creative and insightful ways to tap into shopper drivers
Through its popular UCount Rewards programme, Standard Bank managed to put money back into the pockets of its customers over the 2021 year-end spending period, helping to stretch the holiday budgets of millions of South African consumers amid a challenging economic environment. Fayelizabeth Foster, Head of Loyalty and Rewards at Standard Bank South Africa, says
Cloud technology specialists, 1Stream, has launched a new customer relationship management platform, 1CRM. This innovative new offering is designed to manage customer experiences and drive sales from one centralised, omni-channel platform. 1Stream’s co-founder and joint CEO, Jed Hewson, says a growing number of successful businesses are realising the value of delivering an excellent customer experience.
More than 97% of South African retail sales in 2020 took place in the physical realm, where customer experience is the defining success factor. So notes Ulana van Biljon, COO of SA REIT Emira Property Fund (JSE: EMI), who believes that the key to success for retailers and mall owners in 2022 is engaging, enjoyable
Shoppers can now benefit from store credit at one of Cape Town’s most sought-after experiential retail stores RCS, the consumer finance arm of global bank BNP Paribas, has announced its latest partnership with WE ARE EGG, the award-winning, “phygital” concept store that is reimagining the South African retail landscape with its unique collaborative, omni-channel approach.
The truth is, all businesses are at risk of being scammed at some point, and just one incident can cost a company millions of Rand. Ryan Mer, CEO, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, says that fraudsters are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and attack corporate payment systems and it’s
Super-apps offer a single location from which a consumer can engage in diverse commercial transactions, from calling a cab to paying an electricity bill Wide-ranging study by Economist Impact, the research and analysis arm of The Economist Group, commissioned by Mastercard Middle East and Africa reveals that super-apps have emerged as a business model with
Convergence of fast-growing CPaaS, CCaaS, and Digital Commerce sectors drives adoption of Chat Commerce Clickatell, a leader in mobile communications and Chat Commerce, collaborated with senior executives across the CPaaS, CCaaS, and Digital Commerce industries to predict the stand-out trends for 2022. The responses point to the consolidation of all three sectors into a single
As South Africa’s retail sector continues to expand, and product and pricing continues to converge – customer experience (CX) has become the most crucial factor in gaining, and retaining, customer loyalty and market share. A Q2 consumer survey carried out by customer experience partner, Merchants, shows that an omnichannel customer engagement strategy is critical in
Clickatell, a leader in mobile communications and chat commerce, has been selected by leading African retailer Pick n Pay to manage their WhatsApp customer communication channel. Customers can easily access Pick n Pay services by sending “Hi” to +27 60 070 3037. The easy to navigate menu then allows shoppers to choose which action they
