Tag Archives: sa
The Ecommerce boom is here and growing!
The South African market is adopting ecommerce at a rapid pace. With more and more consumers becoming comfortable with using online platforms to make purchases, It presents opportunities for businesses and brands especially in an environment of slowing retail sales, as reported by Statistics SA on Wednesday. According to Claude Hanan, Co-founder of design curated website Citymob.co.za, “Ecommerce in SA is quite a defensive industry at the moment. Even when broader macro trends point to muted consumer spending, the number of shoppers becoming online shoppers is growing faster than the decline in basket sizes as a result of falling disposable income.” We are still very far away from being in a position where all those who WANT to shop online, can and do shop online. If one takes a deeper look, South Africa has 3% ecommerce penetration (being the % of total population who shop online). This equates to about 1.5m people. This figure is expected to double by 2016 to 6% or 3 million people, but Hanan feels it will more than double. “ There are 13.2m internet users in SA currently. However, a measure we prefer looking at – which has been identified by Arthur Goldstuck, is the number of internet users who have been online for LONGER than a 5 year period. Currently this sits at 4.6m.” But a point Hanan is eager to make is that no-one is comparing the 1.5m currently active online shoppers to the 4.6m potential user base. If you do, you see that only 32% of people, who are ready to shop online, actually are shopping. Why is this? There are a number of reasons but top contributors are awareness, trust and quality of offering. The market is growing very quickly. Again, according to research by World Wide Worx, online retail is growing at 25-35% per year and is expected to reach R4.2bn in 2013. “It’s not a case of local online companies getting better in the next few years, they are getting better right now. It’s happening today. More users are online, shipping is faster, product offerings are better, client service is smoother. So the tailwinds in the industry are legitimate and we are benefiting massively from that and are hugely excited about the growth of ecommerce in SA over the next 5 years.” Citymob took advantage of the opportunity and have seen phenomenal growth across the board. “All KPI’s are [...]
South Africans embrace online shopping and Cyber Monday
This year saw a rise in online spending across the globe, with USA reporting a 20% increase in online shopping on Cyber Monday as shoppers snubbed physical retail stores in favour of missing out on the holiday queues. Locally we are coming to the party, with recent report showing that 9.5% of South Africans are planning on doing their festive shopping online in 2013. Picking up on this trend, Style36.co.za and 5rooms.com, two of SA’s leading online fashion and furniture retailers, proved that SA is indeed embracing online shopping by breaking their sales records in one day with the launch of their Cyber Monday campaign. Offering customer the opportunity to shop top local and international brands at up to 80% off for 24 hours only, the campaign not only showed that South Africans are shopping online but that they are willing to spend large amounts of money when given the right opportunity. Style36, SA’s ultimate online style destination, set a record number of sales, receiving over 5000 orders in just 24 hours. For the first time ever, the site received over 100 000 visits in one day, a clear indication that South Africans are curious and excited about the prospect of shopping online. Online furniture, homeware and lighting store, 5rooms, went on to record their biggest sale day since inception in 2012 with close to 1000 orders being placed in the 24 hours provided. In total South African consumers spent over R3 million shopping on these two online stores alone. “We are very pleased with the results of our first ever Cyber Monday campaign and judging from the results we achieved, South Africans from all over the country are embracing online shopping. The most positive aspect of the campaign are that we not only managed to give our already loyal shoppers what they want that being incredible deals but also increased our customer base by over 60% in just 24 hours, introducing an entirely new audience to online shopping,” says Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Head of Marketing at Style36 and 5Rooms. Cyber Monday in SA proved to be one of the biggest online events of year a promising indication as to where e-commerce is headed in this country. If companies like Style36 and 5rooms continue to set the standard locally, South Africa is sure to hit the big time on the world stage in coming years. This article was contributed to [...]
8 Reasons Consumers Like To Shop Online – Cater To Them For Online Retail Success
Because of the numerous advantages and benefits, more and more people say they prefer online shopping over conventional shopping these days. It’s important to understand the psyche of the online shopper. Cater to this and you’ll have them flocking to your… er, online store. Here’s what they say are important to them — and here’s how you can get a leg up by catering to these desires and fantasies. Know what the consumer wants and play to it — plug into your thinking all the ways that you can meet these desires, through your competitive intelligence, competitive pricing, customer service, and more. From shopping in their pajamas to convenience for elderly and disabled, the consumer comments below highlight what’s positive about online shopping for them. Also because of wider choice, not subject to upselling or impulse buying, better prices, good for the environment, and more. There are many reasons for online retailers to be sanguine about the future of online retail. Here are some consumers’ reasons for buying online, in their own words: 1) Convenience: Where else can you do shopping, even at midnight, wearing your jammies? You don’t have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant helps you with your purchases. You can do your shopping in minutes even if you are busy, apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24 x 7 and also reward us with ‘no pollution’ shopping. 2) Better Prices: I get cheap deals and better prices from online stores because products come to you directly from the manufacturer or seller without middlemen involved. Many online shops offer discount coupons and rebates. 3) Variety: One can get several brands and products from different sellers at one place. You can get in on the latest international trends without spending money on travel; you can shop from retailers in other parts of the country or even the world without being limited by geographic area… These stores offer a far greater selection of colors and sizes than you will find locally. If you find that the product you need is out of stock online, you can take your business to another online store where the product is available. 4) Fewer Expenses: Many times when we opt for conventional shopping we tend to spend a lot more than the required shopping expenses, on things like eating out, traveling, impulsive shopping etc. 5) [...]
Getting Started in Ecommerce: What’s a Shopping Cart?
The ecommerce shopping cart is a software package that accepts customer payment and shipping information and facilitates the distribution of that information to merchants, payment processors, or others. At the surface, an ecommerce shopping cart is really something that every beginning online merchant intuitively recognizes. For example, almost no one would consider opening an online store without having made a few purchases online themselves. In the course of buying books from Barnes & Noble or clothes from Gap, that new ecommerce entrepreneur no doubt encountered a shopping cart. From the consumer’s perspective, an ecommerce shopping cart may seem like little more than a web form, little different than an email newsletter subscription or an online registration form. BY ARMANDO ROGGIO at Practical Ecommerce
Online Shopping Stores SA
The best online shopping stores: 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 [...]
