South African retail has experienced profound transformation over the past few years, with digital platforms and ecommerce reshaping consumer expectations. However, we are just in the earliest phases of digital transformation and SME retailers will need to be agile to keep up with emerging customer demands and new competitors. Steven Heilbron, CEO of Capital Connect,
Telr, the award-winning online payment gateway, has announced its strategic collaboration with Mastercard to introduce its digital checkout solution, Click to Pay, across its extensive network of merchants in the UAE. Through this partnership, Telr will deploy cutting-edge payment technologies to enhance the customer experience. Click to Pay is an innovative, seamless, and secure payment
Backed by 20 years of tech expertise, leading IT solutions provider Braintree has seen their retail turnover increase by 1,200% since launching their e-commerce offering two years ago. With the objective of supporting business professionals in both home and office environments, Braintree brings to the tech e-commerce market over 3 000 premium products across 30
Bob Group’s Ship Logic platform is helping the country’s courier companies overcome faulty address details, failed delivery attempts and poor communication with customers South African ecommerce ecosystem Bob Group is playing a leading role in optimising courier services around the country through its Ship Logic platform, a software solution that enables delivery specialists handling high
By Thomas Kingombe, Managing Director and Partner and Vishakha Chopra, Project Leader, BCG Johannesburg As global e-commerce giants like Amazon, Shein and Temu set their sights on South Africa’s growing e-commerce space, local retailers may find themselves feeling the pinch. Will South African stalwarts rise to the challenge, or crumble faced with international competition? Although
Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, announces a successful partnership with Sprinklr to elevate customer experience (CX) across its diverse user base. Jumia implemented Sprinklr’s unified customer experience management (Unified-CXM) platform to streamline support for millions of customers, sellers, and employees across 11 African countries. “Sprinklr’s solution is a perfect fit for our diverse customer base
With Amazon’s South African operations now up and running, the question on everybody’s lips is what the impact will be on homegrown online shopping platforms. The ecommerce giant has market capitalisation of more than a trillion US dollars, and there are fears it will crush local competitors. What some may not realise, however, is that
By Gary Bowers, Product Manager and Shaun Shehab, Senior Sales Engineer at Ecentric Retailers need to keep costs under control and reduce complexity in economic conditions that can best be described as uncertain and challenging. Yet, despite this, they need to give customers (and their employees) the kind of payment experience they demand. Beyond this,
Africa’s high mobile penetration rates as well as its young population have contributed to the continent’s positive response to digital marketplaces and on-demand services. Several notable marketplaces that have grown exponentially on the continent include Nigeria’s Jumia, South Africa’s Takealot and the international e-hailing service Uber. This year, the continent sees the arrival of new
By Mark Wilson, CEO, SYSPRO EMEA & APAC There’s no avoiding the reality that we’re in a tough economic cycle laden with global and local uncertainty. Since 2020, the manufacturing sector has undergone a period of unprecedented change. Multiple overlapping – and largely unpredicted – macro-level shocks have combined to create a radically changed world.
After the long-awaited soft launch of Amazon, many local brands will be accelerating their e-commerce strategies. However, too few brands have properly considered how to include a solid retail media strategy to support their efforts. And, with 74% of global consumers starting their buyer’s journey on the Amazon platform, this oversight could end up hurting
Africa’s last-mile delivery market is expected to be worth $2.3 billion (R43 Billion) by 2030. If one considers that the continent will be home to some two billion people by 2050, it becomes clear that this sector will grow exponentially and offer many new business opportunities. Meanwhile, South Africa’s total ecommerce market is on track
Physical retail businesses remain crucial in the South African landscape, catering to the preferences of many customers. However, as eCommerce continues to surge, these businesses will experience challenges competing with industry giants like Amazon. The trends outlined below are essential considerations for a thriving retail business in an increasingly online world. While they’re not a
The South African retail industry operates in a complex and challenging environment. Economic uncertainty, rising costs, and unpredictable consumer demands have created conditions in which retailers must constantly adapt to survive. Loadshedding further disrupts operations and sales, while compliance with regulations like FICA and KYC (Know Your Customer) increases the administrative burdens for retail businesses.
Africa has one of the world’s fastest growing consumer markets, projected to boast 1.7 billion consumers by 2030. The number of ‘ultra-high net worth’ individuals in Africa with assets exceeding $30 million is expected to grow by almost 50% this year, making way for ample retail opportunities. Consumer and business spending in Africa should reach
With online sales in Africa on course to top the trillion-rand mark by 2026, the race is on for ecommerce businesses to claim their piece of the pie. Research by Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) indicates that in the next two years the digital commerce market is expected to reach US$72-billion across South Africa,
Bob Group Managing Director Andy Higgins believes 2024 will be the year online retail in South Africa will start to accelerate and catch up with international uptake. Higgins, who took the reins when marketplace giant bidorbuy (now Bob shop) and logistics powerhouse uAfrica (now Bob Go) amalgamated to form the Bob Group ecommerce ecosystem last
By Joel Bronkowski, South Africa Country Lead at Paystack In the ever-evolving landscape of retail, a notable turn has taken centre stage as multiple brands continue their transition from traditional brick-and-mortar sales to a dynamic fusion of ecommerce platforms. This move has not only redefined the way businesses operate but has also enhanced their capacity
It doesn’t matter whether a company is a small to medium-sized enterprise or a large corporation, or where it’s based, we are all now operating in a global economy. Irrespective of the size of an enterprise, its location or what its product offering is, with the right payment and transaction mechanisms, it can compete equally
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MultiChoice Group. Mauritius Telecom, the number one telecom operator in Mauritius, and MultiChoice, Africa’s leading entertainment platform, are pleased to announce their partnership to bring DStv Stream to Mauritius. A signing ceremony between Mauritius Telecom, represented by its CEO Kapil Reesaul and MultiChoice Africa, represented by Jose Escobar,
Jumia, the leading e-commerce platform in Africa, has announced an agreement with Starlink, a satellite internet service, to retail the Starlink Residential Kit in Africa. With this partnership, Jumia aims to bridge the digital divide by delivering Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet to previously underserved regions of Africa. The agreement will initially cover Nigeria, with plans
Spurred on by unpredictable market trends, changing customer behaviours, and the rise of e-commerce, businesses are having to redefine their operations. One industry in particular feeling the weight of this change is retail. Research from the PWC Global Consumer Insights Survey shows that 28% of South African in-store shoppers are bothered by stock shortages while
Most of us have engaged in eCommerce one way or another and are likely to frequent our tried and tested online providers for years to come. We can navigate B2C eCommerce comfortably and enjoy the ease of finding great products, seamless services, and fast delivery. In fact, the eCommerce user experience (UX) continues to get
Wasoko, the African e-commerce company using innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has today announced its expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leveraging its existing ecommerce hub in neighboring Rwanda. With the announcement marking the startup’s second country expansion this year after launching its Zambia operations in May 2023, it
Leading tech and financial gateway service provider PAYM8, announced the expansion of its e-commerce offering. This comes in response to the South African e-commerce market’s projected growth of 11.89% in the next five years, reaching a market volume of US$9.97 billion, roughly R75 billion, by 2027. As consumers increasingly value the convenience, time savings, and
As e-commerce grows globally with online shopper numbers expected to continue to increase by 18 percent annually in Africa, a report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects that such growth could be higher if we invest in the women entrepreneurs on e-commerce platforms. The industry presents South Africa with a clear opportunity for women
Massmart, in its bid to become the leading retail and wholesale eCommerce destination in South Africa, is reaping the benefits of re-setting and upgrading its online order fulfilment infrastructure. This started with creating a centralised eCommerce Pickup & Delivery capability comprising approximately 60 specialists across functions which include eCommerce Operations, Customer Operations and Inventory Optimisation.
By Joel Bronkowski, South Africa Country Lead at Paystack Amidst general struggles for South African retailers (figures for March show that retail trade sales were down 1.6% year on year), the country is experiencing an ecommerce boom. While the sector’s growth at the height of the pandemic was to be expected, it’s notable that growth
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is making significant investments in capabilities to create an agile workplace that is engaging and productive, developing the skills of employees to compete in a digital age of artificial intelligence and big data. “CCBA’s digital transformation journey is an integral component to take us into the future, remain relevant and future-proof
Following Massmart’s 100% acquisition by Walmart, the company now has gained improved access to technical capabilities focused on enhancing the customer shopping experience across its Makro, Builders, and Game websites. The latest move in Massmart’s eCommerce strategy has involved shifting the Makro website onto a new micro-services based platform which has delivered new features, improved
The heady days of triple-digit e-commerce growth are over, but the rewards are there for the taking for the savvy e-marketer. Local e-commerce growth is slowing, which was inevitable considering the huge leaps made during and post-COVID, but the sector is still growing and is driving total retail growth both here and abroad. Locally, fast-moving
By Quintin van der Linde, Senior New Business Developer at Ecentric Payment Systems Africa is projected to have more than half a billion e-commerce users by 2025. In part, this can be attributed to the growing adoption of alternative payment methods in the wake of the pandemic. With 45% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa
Mike Smollan, Chief Growth Officer Exactly how did we get to July in what feels like a blink of an eye? Pondering on that often-used analogy, I had to check in with Google. To learn that there are 1000 milliseconds in each second, so a blink of an eye takes around 1/3 of a second.
Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, released a new report, “Expanding E-Commerce in Rural Areas in Ivory Coast,” highlighting its successful penetration into underserved regions and success in bringing e-commerce opportunities to rural populations. The report draws on Jumia’s 2022 non-financial data and provides insights into its expansion strategies to rural communities in Ivory Coast. Physically
Up and coming retail group, Retailability, says the online launch of one of South Africa’s most revered and much-missed brands, Boardmans is not only timely but will fill a gap for value conscious consumers looking for that special touch in home décor. South Africa’s familiar kitchen and home brand, Boardmans, is set for re-launch as
KES 400 discount for goods worth KES 3,000 and above when customers shop on the MAF Carrefour Mobile app and pay with locally issued Visa cards The campaign will run every Tuesday for three months starting June 2023 Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Kenya, has announced its partnership with Visa, the
In South Africa, ecommerce transactions are regulated by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA) and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA). It is important that companies doing business over the internet are aware of the details of these two key pieces of legislation, with retailers having to be on
Friction at checkout remains a major challenge for businesses, many of which are doing everything they can to reduce cart abandonment and ensure a great customer experience. At the same time, banks face their own challenges as they are the last defence for both customer and merchant when it comes to fraud protection. However, when
By Shaun Holley, Deputy CEO & Head of Innovation & Rory Bosman, Sales & Marketing Executive at Ecentric Payment Systems Today’s consumers have access to a myriad of convenient experiences through mobile apps and online platforms, and they expect a similar level of ease when interacting with businesses and specifically payment interactions. Indeed, consumer demand
Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce group, after two years of extensive research and test-running, is set to further raise the bar of service delivery in the industry with the launch of KongaNow, guaranteed same day delivery of verified products, for which Konga will take complete responsibility. All you need to do is go to www.Konga.com/konga/now
Africa’s Largest B2B E-commerce Network Launches First Location in Southern Africa Wasoko, the African e-commerce company leveraging innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has today announced its expansion into Zambia – the company’s first location in Southern Africa. Following the launch, Wasoko will invest over $1mn in its first year of operations
Bata is a household name globally with a reputation for affordable, reliable footwear. It currently produces over five million shoes a year at its manufacturing facility in Loskop, Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal, mainly comprising Toughees school shoes, Bata Industrials safety footwear, Safari for the outdoor adventurer, and the Tomy Takkies line. Country Manager, Michael Wyatt, says
How smart-tech companies kill two birds with one stone – order fulfilment and marketing Happy customer, happy business. It’s an old adage but one that rings true even with all the changes that have occurred in retail. Whether you’re running a brick-and-mortar store or e-commerce business, enabling shoppers to conveniently buy quality goods at affordable
E-commerce shoppers have been promised a frictionless checkout for years, but new moves by the card schemes will take South African consumers a step closer. Soon, local merchants will be able to offer online shoppers a faster checkout experience giving them a seamless experience, much like the ones already available on Amazon and other global
In 2021 Massmart announced a renewed commitment to eCommerce as a strategic growth vector and the owner of Makro, Game and Builders has invested significantly in this area over the last two years. In 2021 Massmart announced a renewed commitment to eCommerce as a strategic growth vector and the owner of Makro, Game and Builders
At the recent Digital Retail Africa 2023 Conference, held in Johannesburg, experts agreed that eCommerce is gaining great momentum across the continent. Especially due to the propulsion to digitise by the Covid 19 pandemic, businesses are innovating, embracing digitisation. According to SABS News’ coverage of the event, it is estimated that nearly half of the
Online retail in South Africa has hit a major milestone, eclipsing R50 billion in annual sales during 2022. Research from World Wide Worx records a 40% increase in the total number of South Africans shopping online since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Yet many retailers are struggling to turn this trend to their
Africa’s Big 7 returns with entries open for the inaugural Innovation Awards According to Statista, revenue in South Africa’s e-commerce food sector is projected to reach US$522.90 million this year, with an Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of 5.47% over 2023-2027.[i] Ordering food online is just one facet of this booming industry, packed with tasty
E-commerce card purchases continue to gain momentum as pandemic-driven habits remain popular and e-commerce card payments have become increasingly convenient, secure and widely available Online payments account for a fifth of payment card spending RBR’s study, Global Payment Cards Data and Forecasts to 2027, reveals that $8.1 trillion was spent using payment cards in 2021,
A new consumer-focused survey has projected Konga as the most admired and innovative e-commerce company on the African continent. The survey, which was published on March 15, 2023, coincided with the World Consumer Rights Day. The market-wide consumer-based survey examined the current state, performance and growth path of e-commerce in Africa. The poll, which cut
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