Total has agreed to develop joint activities in the downstream petroleum sector in Angola, with national company Sonangol. Already long-term partners in the upstream business, the two companies have decided to establish a Joint Venture company to develop a common retail and distribution activity in the country, the fourth largest market in sub-Saharan Africa. While
3-D Secure 2 access control server comes bundled with APIs for a wide range of in-app payment experiences Entersekt, an innovator in mobile-first fintech solutions, announced that it has gained EMVCo certification for its 3-D Secure 2 access control server. EMVCo is a payments industry consortium managing global specifications for secure card-based e-commerce transactions. Entersekt
Latest consumer confidence levels remain unchanged compared to previous quarter Job prospects continue to haunt South Africans with only 34% seeing them as positive in the next 12 months The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for South Africa for Q3, 2018 remains unchanged compared to the previous quarter, remaining at 90 with South Africans seemingly in
Shoprite is helping to ease the burden of rising education costs by offering its customers a basic school uniform for under R100 and giving more than 460 learners the opportunity to have their 2019 school fees paid for. For less than R100, customers are able to buy a basic school uniform consisting of a shirt,
JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA, January 16, 2019 — There is so much more in store for the African retail industry. According to research conducted by PWC, many sub-Saharan African countries have emerged among the world’s fastest-growing economies. This kind of development is due, in part, to a great deal of economic and
French multinational retailer, Carrefour has entered into a definitive agreement with Jumia, a Nigeria-based e-commerce platform to boost online grocery, beverages and other sales. A Business Daily report indicates that the deal will allow Carrefour customers purchase a wide selection of products from its six Nairobi stores on Jumia’s online platform starting January. Carrefour is
Today marks the official opening of two new Game stores in Accra by popular retail chain; one in West Hills Mall and one in Achimota Retail Centre. The Game store in Accra Mall has undergone a major facelift and is also relaunching today. Since Game’s debut into Ghana in 2007, the company has supported the
With the opening of its new store in the Alberton North Shopping Centre in Gauteng, Shoprite created 95 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement is 110, which includes 102 youth (between the ages of 18 and 35) and 80 women. Shoprite Alberton North offers customers a convenient shopping experience with 13 pay points and
Nestlé South Africa (Pty) Ltd has been recognised as the Number 1 Top Employer in the country. The announcement was made by the Top Employer Institute at the Top Employer Awards ceremony held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg this evening. The Top Employer Institute Certification Programme assesses amongst others, an organisation’s practices on talent
The onslaught from e-commerce means retailers must become smarter. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have no chance of surviving the onslaught from e-commerce unless they invest in their customer experience, says redPanda Software Group CEO Gareth Hawkey. If traditional retailers take on e-commerce providers at their own game by gathering insights and learning about their customers and
The opening of Shoprite Johannesburg CBD on Tuesday, 27 November 2018 created 18 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement is 36, which includes 25 women. The new store offers customers a convenient shopping experience with 12 pay points and access to a number of in-store fresh food departments including a Meat Market, Hot &
Despite the lackluster macro-economic indicators, South African tenacity showed itself once again as retailers – especially smaller stores – cashed in on the online space over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend says Payment Service Provider, DPO PayGate. The annual shopping mega events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which take place immediately after
With the opening of its new supermarket at Kwa Thema Junction in Springs, Shoprite created 94 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement is 112, which includes 107 youth (between the ages of 18 and 35) and 82 women. The new store offers customers a convenient shopping experience with 16 pay points and access to
With the long-awaited Carbon Tax Bill now expected to be implemented in June of 2019, businesses still have some time to develop new energy strategies that can help to reduce their carbon footprint. To add to the woes of a carbon intensive footprint, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has also approved a
The newly designed Vodacom World officially launched, Friday 07 December 2018. For six months, Vodacom worked on reinventing Vodacom World and now the facility offers new and exciting technologies. Inside the new facility, there is a Vodacom Shop as well as retail space. There is an Internet of Things (IoT) section where customers can get
With the opening of its new store in Mams Mall, Pretoria, Shoprite created 60 new jobs. The store’s total staff complement is 140, which includes 106 women. Customers eagerly gathered to be amongst the first to benefit from the store’s fantastic opening specials and were also treated to in-store competitions and delicious product tastings. Shoprite
Travelstart is pleased to announce a pay-in-store partnership with Pick n Pay. South Africans can now book their flights on Travelstart.co.za and pay for them at their nearest participating Pick n Pay store nationwide. Travelstart’s Head of Global Partnerships Odette Faling said the pay-in-store feature brings a new level of convenience for customers who enjoy
Ipsos South Africa has released the results of its inaugural survey measuring the influence that brands have on South Africans, at an event held at Melrose Arch on Friday, 16 November. The Most Influential Brands study unveils and ranks the most influential brands in South Africa, and offers a case study perspective on the dimensions
Zara’s global women’s men’s and kids’ collections will be available online for the first time to customers in Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Ghana, among others. Zara will launch online sales through a dedicated worldwide online platform, thus bringing its fashions to customers in 106 new
Easy and seamless payments are one of the key concerns for large retailers. As new technologies emerge, and the payments ecosystem evolves, retailers must stay ahead of customer expectations around availability, channel variety, and ease-of-use. “The payment environment in retail must not only ensure high availability and performance, but is also a key part of
Traditional retailers cannot compete with online retailers when it comes to price and merchandise and need to bring something to the table that online retailers cannot. This is according to Gareth Hawkey, Group CEO at redPanda Software, who notes that traditional retailers will, therefore, have to find technology that will change the whole in-store experience
During the first half of its 2019 financial year, the chain grew by seven stores, which added R155m to revenue, helping its overall interim revenue grow 9.4% to R10.5bn. Dis-Chem ended August with 136 stores, 18 more than it had at the end of the first half of its 2018 financial year. “Two stores have
Loyalty members of Pick n Pay Smart Shopper will soon be able to earn points when they refuel at BP service stations. This means that customers can soon earn points both at the pump and in BP’s forecourt Pick n Pay Express convenience store. Expected to launch later this year, the extended partnership between Pick
The Shoprite Group, the only national retailer with a verified 100% recycled shopping bag in all its supermarkets, has announced that it will now be rewarding customers for using their newly introduced “planet” bags in both Shoprite and Checkers stores. Made from 100% recycled and recyclable plastic, the bigger and stronger “planet” bags retail for
Despite challenging global economic conditions, retail sales in South Africa rose 1.3% year-on-year in July. Even though this is in line with expectations, it is still a positive sign that consumers have been willing to spend amidst pressure to tighten budgets. And yet, anecdotal evidence from many retailers suggest that certain product categories are struggling.
Leading footwear brand, Olympic International, has shown a 25% year on year growth, despite tough economic conditions. The brand – originally inspired by the two biggest sports in South Africa, football and rugby – continues its expansion into the disciplines that are changing the face of sport in the country, as well as on the
Nielsen has added a new product solution to their Shopper toolkit – a creative and unique solution for retailers and manufacturers globally, helping them get closer to shopper behaviour at the moment of truth and uncover What’s Next. The solution helps retailers measure, evaluate and optimize a range of retail concepts on sales and profit,
The store of the future will use seamlessly integrated technology to create a wonderful retail experience for all its customers, says Metacom CEO Réan van Niekerk — and lower costs at the same time. “What makes a retail experience great is being recognised and valued as an individual,” says Van Niekerk. “50 years ago, or
South Africans are under pressure as indicated by the latest results of The Conference Board® Global Consumer Confidence Survey, conducted in collaboration with Nielsen, which reflects a 5-point decrease in South African consumer confidence to 90 in Q2, 2018. Nielsen Sub-Saharan Africa MD Bryan Sun comments; “Consumer confidence in South Africa dropped in Quarter 2,
South African consumers are facing an increasingly stressful, time-starved lifestyle which has created a burgeoning demand for convenient solutions that can help simplify their lives and points to a host of untapped opportunities for South African manufacturers and retailers. This stems from the latest report from global measurement company Nielsen, which focuses on the Quest
FoodForward SA has introduced the FoodShare Digital Platform, a technological answer to the logistical demands of an organisation that recovers surplus food in the supply chain for redistribution to registered non-profit organisations. Usually, FoodForward SA requires a major logistical operation to collect, sort, and warehouse surplus food from donors and to distribute the products to
By 2022, total E&M revenue in South Africa is expected to reach R177.2 billion, up from R129.2 billion in 2017 Africa’s entertainment and media industry has entered a dynamic new phase – a third wave of convergence. The borders that once separated the entertainment and media (E&M), technology and telecommunications industries are blurring in the
Garmin Southern Africa have announced that the Garmin Pay contactless payment feature is now live on a range of Pay-Enabled Garmin watches in South Africa. The feature is currently available to VISA-enabled cardholders of First National Bank (FNB) and RMB Private Bank. This new feature from Garmin enables consumers to make highly secure contactless payments at near-field
The South African consumer is experiencing a severe wallet squeeze thanks to a raft of rising costs including spiraling petrol and electricity prices, the implementation of sugar tax and a value added tax (VAT) increase to 15%. To manage their expenses, consumers have had to make some tough choices and adjust their consumption patterns. The
SPAR Zimbabwe has opened a new store in Kwekwe, a mining city that has the largest mineral wealth in the country and is considered to be the industrial centre of Zimbabwe. SPAR Kwekwe is located along the main road, which travels through the Central Business District, alongside the main highway connecting Harare in the North
In a first for supermarket retailing in South Africa, Checkers is launching Ready to Chef meal kits. Developed by chefs, each meal kit consists of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card with a QR code to a how-to video. With Checkers’ Ready to Chef meal kits, even time-pressed consumers can now cook delicious,
A Cape Town-based children’s wear chain is set to go big within the next few years, thanks to the advanced management tools and market data within its point of sale solution. Petit Love, a luxury baby-goods retail chain, is targeting expansion to 15 new stores over the next four years, proving that small business can
HomeChoice International PLC (the Group), a leading provider of innovative Retail and Financial Services products to a growing female mass market customer base in southern Africa, today announced solid results for the period ended 30 June 2018. Headline earnings increased by 16.1% to R260 million and HEPS increased by 14.7% to 249.6 cents, continuing its
Over the past year, South Africa’s independent retailers enjoyed sales volumes 25% higher than the global average, according to data from retail management software leader Vend. Vend’s Retail Benchmark Report for 2018, which compared data from over 13,000 retailers using Vend around the world, reveals that globally the average independent retail store makes $22,300 per
E-commerce retailers grew their share of the South African technical consumer goods market by 52% in 2017, accounting for 6.9% of total consumer spending by rand value for the year. This means they have nearly doubled their share of the market since 2015, according to research from GfK South Africa. GfK South Africa’s new report,
South African retail sales for June 2018 grew by 2.9 percent year-on-year excluding the effects of inflation, marking the weakest pace of growth since October 2017. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse June 2018 report, which provides a macro-economic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. June’s retail sales volume was slightly below
The first on the continent to access Samsung Pay, South Africans will be able to enjoy this innovative, safer, simpler payment method that works anywhere. Samsung Pay joins the lineage of people-centered technology, allowing users to make secure, simple mobile payments, almost anywhere, when purchasing goods at any store. Users can simply tap their compatible
Fashion retailer TFG has poached the CEO of Grindrod Freight Services, Bongiwe Ntuli, to fill the role of finance chief. TFG said previously that Anthony Thunström, the current CFO, would move into the CEO role on September 3. Current CEO Doug Murray will step down at that time after almost 11 years in the job.
Online and mobile payments are taking off in Africa as a combination of improved internet access, advanced financial systems and widespread mobile penetration help spur demand for services. However, the ability to pay and accept payments on the continent are not without their challenges, principally around risk and settlement. “For the last decade, the ability
It’s no secret that South African shoppers are beset by a storm of rising prices and it seems their shopping baskets are definitely feeling the pain with the average consumer now hyper aware of what they’re purchasing. As a result, the latest Nielsen Shoppergraphics Report – which looks at shifts in consumer purchasing behaviour within
Pick n Pay has its sights set on creating 15,000 new jobs over the next three years. According to Pick n Pay chairman Gareth Ackerman, the retailer hopes to bring young people into the world of work and expose them to the opportunities that retail provides to build a career. Speaking at the company’s AGM,
Travelstart and Pep have partnered to deliver a service that enables customers to pay for flights in more than 600 Pep stores nationwide. Named Pay@Pep, the partnership will make it easier for those customers who are looking for alternative ways to pay for their flights. Commenting on the partnership, Travelstart head of global partnerships Odette
In a recent study, it was established that the current size of the South African retail market is estimated at around 23.4 million square metres (sqm) of gross lettable area (GLA) across 1959 individual shopping centres (as of July 2017). The study was conducted by MSCI on behalf of the South African Council of Shopping
A new, exclusive partnership between Spar and South African ticketing company Ticketpro will see customer kiosks being rolled out in Spar stores nationwide. Through utilising technology developed by Blue Label Telecoms, Ticketpro streamlines the ticketing, hospitality and access control for a range of events across the country, offering customised ticketing solutions to a wide variety
The FairPlay movement has called for a public enquiry into the fiasco that saw a zero tariff for sugar being set and gazetted in South Africa last year, which allowed importers to bring in and stockpile sugar duty-free, “and which plunged the South African industry into a crisis”. “This is more than an administrative error.
