eCommerce
How Post-Lockdown Shopping Figures Represent Changing Retail Landscape
The impact of COVID-19 on both consumers and retailers is becoming evident. Retailers are under pressure to reimagine and transform their businesses, build-out eCommerce solutions and expand their online offerings. Consumers, having already navigated a difficult year, and still uncertain about what the future holds, are likely to spend more conservatively over the next quarter. New data from Mobicred’s Consumer Spend index reveals some interesting trends as South Africans settle into post-lockdown shopping. While the previous quarter’s figures showed a higher level of eCommerce adoption, this spike was to be expected amid Coronavirus infection fears and consequent limitations on physical shopping during lockdown. Despite adoption rates levelling off, the data shows an increase of 9% i...
What does Lockdown Level 1 mean for eCommerce?
South Africa is about to move into Lockdown Level One as from midnight on Sunday, 20 September. And while the hard lockdown saw eCommerce activity skyrocket to unprecedented levels, trade volumes in brick and mortar stores have already started to see a pick-up during the previous shift down to Level Two. As restrictions ease further off the back of last night’s announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa, questions have been raised as to whether the spike in eCommerce activity will wane and what the future holds for the sector. Based on international market trends, Matthew Leighton, a spokesperson from OneDayOnly.co.za, believes that continued growth is inevitable. “Well-established eCommerce markets are still experiencing growth, and we expect to see the same locally. A recent example was A...
Jumia to Introduce New Pick Up Stations in Ghana
Jumia has expanded its delivery service with the introduction of new pick-up locations across Ghana – something that the company hopes will allow customers to receive their orders faster while saving money. With over 20 pick up stations already operational in Accra and Kumasi, new stations will open in the Western and Central Region. Preparations to expand to Koforidua, Ho, Aflao and Tamale are also in the pipeline. The eCommerce reports that more than 25% of its consumers are from remote, rural areas who haven’t always been afforded the choice to find more affordable products. However, with the introduction of these pick-up stations, consumers will be able to find MORE flexible payment options. Consumers in the Western and Central Regions can now also choose the cash on delivery payment m...
Cash Crusaders Launches eCommerce Service in South Africa
Second-hand goods chain, Cash Crusaders has built and launched ‘Click & Collect’, the first instalment in taking their retail business online. “Although we’ve been planning the launch of eCommerce for our business for a while, COVID-19 rapidly increased the rate in which we rolled the service out,” says Sean Stegmann, CEO of Cash Crusaders Franchising. “As discussed in our recent 702’s Franchising for Future Success webinar, with shopper behaviours changing somewhat, the timing was perfect for us to aggressively embrace our digitisation strategy. We started with our WhatsApp Video service back in June and have gone live with our Click & Collect service.” The company says that this service will cater for both private label new goods as well as second-hand goods and works off a live ...
South Africa’s eCommerce Market to Reach $3.5 Billion in 2020, says Researchers
eCommerce has broken barriers as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic’s lockdown restrictions. Statista believes that the South African market will reach just over R62 billion this year, and show a compounded annual growth rate of 10% for the next four years. User penetration will be 37% this year and is expected to hit almost 51% by 2024. And even given the devasting impact of the national lockdown restrictions, which meant that online shoppers could order only “essential” items, 22% of a thousand South African adults surveyed in late April by Ipsos said they were using online shopping more frequently than in the month before, with 65% shopping less at a supermarket according to Nielsen figures released in early May. eCommerce and Consumer Trust “We’re seeing more and more people real...
4 Ways to Boost Your eCommerce Business
Sourced from IOL. South Africa’s eCommerce industry is booming as a result of retailers who were constrained from operating normally due to lockdown and safety restrictions. Now, with lockdown restrictions easing, the temptation is to throttle back on online efforts and go back to the ways of old. That would be a big mistake, believes Warrick Kernes, founder of the Insaka eCommerce Academy. “Previously the challenge with building an online store was creating a website and taking payments online or delivering a parcel overnight. Today, these challenges are largely solved, but now a new challenge has emerged due to the mass of sellers coming online,” says Kernes. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_d8f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_d8f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Here are four ways...
eCommerce Surges by 139% Amidst Pandemic, Research Shows
Sourced from Innovation Village. South Africa’s eCommerce industry is booming retailers were forced to take their operations online due to lockdown and safety restrictions. Now, with lockdown restrictions easing, the temptation is to throttle back on online efforts and go back to the ways of old. That would be a big mistake, believes Warrick Kernes, founder of the Insaka eCommerce Academy. “Businesses really need to embrace this and make it part of their strategy.” At this time, more South Africans are delving into online buying for everything from groceries and toiletries to hardware and digital devices. But it’s when you drill down into the statistics that the true uptake becomes apparent. Just recently payment gateway PayFast released information regarding transactions during the Januar...
eCommerce Activity Reaches Record High – Offering Hope for Local Economy
Sourced from IOL. eCommerce is said to be providing a ray of hope for South Africa’s local economy with transactions hitting a record high in May and June. And, while there will be some levelling off, DPO South Africa says the new love affair with digital commerce is unlikely to fade in coming months, offering some relief in an otherwise grim economy. “The last weekend in May saw transactions per minute hit four times that of the busiest minute experienced during Black Friday last year. June was similar to May and we expect our monthly volumes for the rest of the year to settle at around 40 per cent higher than last year,” explains Peter Harvey, MD of DPO South Africa. According to Harvey, the adoption of eCommerce should be seen as a very positive sign after the depressing financial metri...
OneDayOnly Records 40% Growth during Lockdown
Sourced from IOL. Unlike anything the world has seen before, the COVID-19 pandemic fuelled a sudden digital surge that catapulted both global and local eCommerce traffic to unprecedented levels. The closest comparable example – while on a much smaller geographical scale – would be the 2003 SARS crisis, which is today recognised as kickstarting Alibaba’s eCommerce success in Asia. This is according to Matthew Leighton, spokesperson from OneDayOnly.co.za, who notes the accelerant role that COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown has played in boosting eCommerce uptake across South Africa. “While eCommerce has been gaining gradual traction across the country over the past decade, there is no denying that COVID-19 has served as a catalyst for rapid progress in this regard. To put this level of growt...
How COVID-19 has Influenced Online Shopping Habits
Sourced from Innovation Village. All things considered, it’s no surprise that eCommerce has fundamentally changed over the past few months. The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged consumers to switch to online shopping and contactless payment alternatives to abide with social distancing practices and lockdown regulations. Stats released by online payment gateway, PayFast show that Generation Z, aged 18 to 24, is paving the way for innovation in the eCommerce space, with Baby Boomers aged 55 to 64, not far behind. “The eCommerce boom was bound to happen, but COVID-19 definitely accelerated industry growth. We’ve seen adoption rates soar following on from the lockdown, this has occurred across age groups. Habits formed now are going to continue in the future,” says Jonathan Smit, MD and Founder...
How to Adapt your Marketing Strategy for the COVID Era
Good marketing relies on a thorough understanding of your target market, but when much of what you knew about your customers is suddenly no longer relevant, a major shift is needed. With the onset of the coronavirus, almost every aspect of what was considered typical daily life was upended literally overnight – people confined to their homes, anxious about the future and their financial security. “The most important question you should be asking is: ‘How best can I connect with my customers during a crisis?’” says Gavin Knox-Grant, marketing guru and director of Karbon Media. “It’s not only during the pandemic that business will be different,” says Knox-Grant, “the way in which we all conduct business will be forever changed.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_556.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.t...
Facebook Unveils Shops – its New eCommerce Feature
Facebook has launched its latest eCommerce feature – Shops – which will enable businesses to set up an online store for customers to access across Facebook and Instagram. The company says that it is investing in features that inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier. This comes at a time when many businesses are struggling to keep their doors open due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic activity. One way that they’re able to survive is by taking their stock online – something that Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg says they’re seeing a lot more. “If you can’t physically open your store or restaurant, you can still take orders online and ship them to people,” he says. “We’re seeing a lot of small businesses that never had online bu...
