The Black Friday remix: what 2025 will look like
In 2024, Black Friday stopped being an imported promo day in South Africa and started dictating terms. It was a supercharged, concentrated surge of shopping that reset expectations and rewired retail playbooks. By Rory Bosman, chief sales and marketing officer at...
Township entrepreneurs turn to fintechs to bridge the digital payments divide
South Africa’s informal economy has for long been largely cash-based. This is changing with spaza shop owners leading the way when it comes to the adoption of digital payments. By Annelene Dippenaar, chief business officer at Shop2Shop While there are still hurdles to...
Retailers must lock down every data door to survive Black Friday
As local retailers gear up for Black Friday – the year’s biggest shopping event – the rush to process payments, manage stock and serve customers across multiple branches leaves many exposed to a surge in cyber threats. By Hemant Harie, group chief technology officer...
What every SME needs ahead of Black Friday
For South African SMEs, the final quarter of the year is more than just a busy season, it is a proving ground. It is when strategy meets execution, and when the right decisions can unlock real growth. By Mpho Sadiki, MD: merchant services Africa at Network...
Innovation without fragility: retail’s balancing act
The global retail sector, projected to reach $35,2-trillion in 2025, has digital channels driving more than 60% of influenced sales and each successful click and customer collection is the result of a thousand moving parts. Peter Ludi, business development executive...
Retailers urged to rethink connectivity
Retail in South Africa is changing. As customers become more digitally empowered, the traditional, staff-led in-store experience is being replaced with self-service, smartphone-driven journeys. By Tobie van Schalkwyk, business unit lead at Duxbury Networking Shoppers...
Smart retailers are saying no to vendor lock-in
In 2025, the South African retail sector has seen a 4,2% year-on-year increase and the ecommerce sector is anticipated to reach R225-billion, a 150% growth over the past five years. Peter Ludi, business development executive at redPanda Software and Solutions...
Peach Payments announces real-time clearance payouts
Peach Payments has launched real-time clearance (RTC) payouts for all merchants on its platform in South Africa. The new payouts solution lets merchants top up their float and disburse payments in just minutes. Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, says:...
Accepting crypto is simple and seamless for merchants
While payments may not literally make the world go round, the world certainly functions through the transfer of value for goods and services. By Inge Oosthuizen, product owner at Ecentric Payment Systems As we all know, the world is on a one-way express train into a...
Unleashing Africa’s retail transformation
The African retail landscape is under immense pressure. Consumers are more digitally savvy and price-conscious than ever, and expect brands to offer convenience, personalisation, and value. By Blessed Hwaire, value advisor: consumer products, life sciences &...
Retailers urged to prepare for business unusual
As the retail calendar barrels toward Black Friday and the festive season, brands are bracing for what may be the most volatile and unpredictable peak period in recent memory. The economic landscape is volatile, consumer behaviour is shifting, and external pressures,...
Retailers must prepare for the next wave of cyberattacks
In April, two of the UK’s biggest retailers got hit by a massive cyberattack by the notorious Scattered Spider group, leading to substantial financial losses, operational disruptions and compromised customer data. M&S suffered losses of £300-million (roughly...