Category Archives: Ecommerce News
6 of South Africa’s hottest ecommerce sites
When it comes to tech startups, ecommerce is at once an easy and tricky space to play in. It’s easy, because to get going all you really need is something to sell, a good design and the right plugins. It’s tricky because people are trusting you with their money. You have to make sure you have the right security, and can guarantee delivery. It’s also not easy to stand out in a market like South Africa where broadband penetration remains comparatively low, forcing you to compete for place in a crowded space. There are a few that have done so well. They sell a wide variety of products, but generally occupy specific niches. The South African ecommerce awards recognises these sites on an annual basis. This year’s winners included sites owned by mega-corporations, while others are more independent. 1. Best ecommerce store — YuppieChef This online store claims it is “dedicated to making the world’s best kitchen tools available to South Africans”. According to the awards’ judging panel: The Yuppiechef website is a pleasure to use with fast, accurate search results and crisp clear images. The site is informative and the ordering process is streamlined and efficient. The delivery experience is incredible, ensuring satisfied customers. Customer service is responsive and attentive whether it’s over the phone, email or online chat. We loved the mobile site. 2. Best ecommerce services website — Bidorbuy The online auction site is an ecommerce stalwart in South Africa, having been around since 1999. In early 2011, it bought group-buying site UbuntuDeal “We enjoyed the fast and secure online shopping, an awesome mobile site and timely responses to customer queries,” said the judging panel. 3. Best group-buying site — Groupon SA The company might not be faring so well internationally, but the SA franchise maintains that it’s in it for the long-haul. With the like of Naspers’ Dealify and Avusa’s Zappon out of the game, it definitely had less competition for this award than it would have a year ago. “The website is easy to navigate with a wide range of deals of which the ordering process was extremely quick and straightforward,” say the judges. 4. Best classifieds website — Property 24 The online classifieds game is seriously hotting up, around the world as well as in South Africa. Some think they might even be the thing that finally kills off newspapers. According to the judges, the Naspers-owned property site won on the [...]
How to Create Killer Product Pages
We all want to be complemented for our Online Shop. We put a lot of time, thought, effort, hopefully some creativity, or we may have even hired a costly agency to take care of the whole caboodle. But people don’t seem comfortable on the site and aren’t making purchases even though you have plenty of traffic per month. – Sound familiar? Well, researchers found that there are just 3 primary things which prevent product “browsers” from being product purchasers. These are: Insufficient Product Information. Too Small Product Image. Too many distractions. To get a complete overview of the top 21 point in online sales, keep reading below.
For Small Biz: Your Website is Your Cash Register
There is some particularly great information and tips towards the end of this Infographic. For a comprehensive eCommerce solution for South African Small business check out CloudSales.co.za.
INFOGRAPHIC: The Rise of Multi-Screen Content Consumption
Perhaps you’ve heard the term “Responsive Design” and happily nodded along hoping to catch some hint of “what the hell it means.” Well, here’s the brief: “Tablets and smartphones have quickly become a technological staple for consumers” (Uberflip, 2013) and the web has swiftly adapted to this by creating flexible website structures which adapt to the size of screen viewing it. Check out the Infographic below or download it here: What is responsive design? Check it out here.
It’s Time to Sell Online – Yaaaay!
If anyone had their doubts about it being the “Right time to start your online shop”, just check out the infographic below and any hesitancy will be eliminated. Of course, this highlights e-Commerce in a developed market. So let’s keep in mind that South African and African e-Commerce rates are growing about 300% faster here than in developed markets and now is the time to get your piece of the pie, before someone else does. ;-) This fear factor concept was hugely exploited by GoDaddy, the largest domain registrar globally at the recent Super Bowl Series Advertisement A Kiss You will Never Forget. However, truth be told, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is NOW. [African proverb, or so I've been told] So begin your online shop preparations today.
[Infographic] How to target Tablet & Mobile users on your Online Store
Jenn Lisak of Marketing Tech summarizes some of the most crucial points for your eCommerce website, especially if you’re planning on attracting tablet & mobile users as clients. Men are more likely to use tablets and mobile phones to make purchases than women. The #1 frustration for consumers is not having enough product information online. Facebook commerce rises on tablets/mobile phones. Over 50% of 18-34 year olds plan to use mobile devices to purchase this holiday season. And check out the very informative Infographic below.
[Infographic:] What is eCommerce?
Seriously, just the best overview of e-Commerce ever. A fantastic overview for beginners and experienced users as well. This explains “What is e-Commerce?”, “The Brief History of e-Commerce”, “e-Commerce Classifications”, “The Advantages of e-Commerce” and finally, “Where is e-Commerce Today”.
The Top Ten Burning Issues in Digital – eCommerce is No.2
Gian Fulgoni lists eCommerce as the number two Burning Issue in his article. What is more relevant to South Africa in the eCommerce context is that the necessary infrastructure to the eCommerce was never around, till now. This the key attribute which makes eCommerce still “the next big thing” in Africa, even after being around for decades in developed nations. The hot selling points for eCommerce and online stores are “lower prices, convenience and the broadest selection of products,” (Fulgoni, 2012) and what may surprise many SMEs, is that selling online is not an expensive venture any more with some of the new ecommerce solution providers, such as CloudSales & OpenCart functionality. Here’s what Fulgoni said in January 2013: 2. e-Commerce Driven by lower prices, convenience and the broadest selection of products, online consumer spending is soaring. comScore data show that in the last twelve months $304 billion was spent via e-commerce in the U.S., with Travel accounting for $110 billion and Non-Travel (aka Retail e-Commerce) pulling in $194 billion. Retail e-Commerce now accounts for one in every ten discretionary dollars spent by U.S. consumers and in Q4 grew 15% versus the prior year, a rate about five times faster than for all consumer spending at retail. Pure play online retailers such as Amazon and eBay have built massive businesses on the basis of e-commerce. Amazon for example, now attracts in excess of 110 million unique visitors in a month and reported North America sales of $7.9 billion in Q3, up 33% over the prior year. But the emergence of e-commerce also means that the physical store is under attack, which in turn means that those retailers who cannot maintain their in-store market share as their category shifts online face increasingly difficult times. Different product categories are shifting online at differing rates, creating particular challenges for multi-category retailers such as big store mass merchandisers. For example, the consumer electronics product category now sees about 30% of sales completed online while consumer packaged goods lags with no more than 1% of sales occurring via e-commerce. This means it’s particularly important for multi-channel retailers to monitor trends in their market share by channel and also by product category so as to clearly understand the nature of competitive online threats. The channel shift to online has also put downward pressure on prices, because the Internet allows consumers to easily root out the lowest price [...]
Mobile is Monstrous – So say the prophets.
Mobile is Monstrous, or so say the Online Sales predicting prophets. Jonathan Novotny, founder of SA innovation market-leader CloudSales, is so convinced of the “Move to Mobile” that all solutions implemented starting in 2013 will be native, mobile compatible. Paul Skeldon of Internet Retailing predicted that “more than half of consumers will buy Christmas gifts via mobile – 73% for the first time.” Now whether that benchmark will be hit or not is not relevant. What is relevant, is that South African small businesses should be looking at ways into the ecommerce foray and should not delay. “With professional packages starting from as low as R 299 per month for intermediate or even R99 per month for a starter solution, there is no excuse to sit on the side lines” says Novotny. Internet Retailing listed a number impressive results in the paragraphs below. Consumers worldwide are finally convinced by mobile commerce and are keen to use it for their seasonal purchases, with 55% of people across the globe likely or certain to buy gifts via their mobile device this Christmas, according to a global study by mobile media company BuzzCity. In the UK alone, despite never buying gifts via mobile before 47% of consumers are planning to purchase Christmas gifts via a mobile device for the first time this year. The poll also highlighted that around a third of consumers (31%) claimed that they are planning to spend over half of their overall festive budget on purchases via mobile, avoiding the traditional Christmas crush in favour of shopping from the comfort of their home or while they are on the move. Dr KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity tells us: “These findings have given us the clearest indication to date that consumer trust in mobile shopping is higher than it’s ever been. The age of mobile commerce is finally here – and it has been a long time coming! It seems that the industry and retailers have done a good job of winning consumer confidence and trust to overcome the barriers that existed previously. This creates a very significant opportunity for advertisers and marketers wishing to reach their audiences via mobile at this time of year.” Convenience appeared to be a key benefit for those planning to shop on their mobile devices with almost three quarters of those surveyed (63%) saying they would be more likely to buy via their mobile [...]
Mobile Commerce To Boom in 2013
According to almost EVERY SOURCE IMAGINABLE, mobile usage, smart phones, and by extension, mobile commerce is growing at phenomenal rates. What this means for the average small business owner who caters to the public is: Ensure your site is mobile compatible. In other words, responsive (check out the infographic on this) and that your ecommerce site also is configured for mobile users. CloudSales, a SA ecommerce company employing disruptive innovation, is offering transparent & complete packages in line with the latest trends. (www.cloudsales.co.za) The CEO of BuzzCity said this about the “Move to Mobile: Consumer confidence in mobile shopping is at an all-time high, with the majority of shoppers planning to buy Christmas gifts on their phones – 73% of whom have not done so before. Is this global phenomenon here to stay and what are the opportunities for forward-thinking advertisers? As well as consumer trust in mobile shopping growing, around one in three customers are planning on spending over half of their festive budget via mobile, avoiding the traditional Christmas crush in favour of shopping on their own terms. In the UK (as of November 2012), smartphones account for 83% of the market. Conclusion: we cannot disregard the impact mobile is having on consumer spending trends. Retailers who do not have a mobile site really need to launch one. Now. In the year ahead, we predict more problems with platform rivalries (such as the iOS6 maps debacle) that could lead to the re-emergence of walled gardens. Companies will secure their share of consumers’ time, but those same consumers will have their overall mobile accessibility disrupted. Brands need to be aware of a backlash. Convenience will continue to be king in 2013. We already know it’s a key benefit for consumers, and last-minute shoppers are more likely to use mobile. The next step is a larger ‘screen shopping’ experience, complemented by the role of QR Codes to further blur the lines between online and high-street shopping. Emerging markets will bring new mobile products offering even more convenient solutions. Just as banking and micro-financing entered the mobile market, we believe mobile healthcare will grow by solving the problem of accessibility. We expect to see a new consumer experience including: Remote patient monitoring Remote nursing Medical records Access to healthcare information. Healthcare service providers (such as insurance companies) would do well to tailor their content strategies to suit. As in [...]
