The 2022 holiday planning guide for retailers
Economic uncertainty and changing consumer behaviors are exposing a complicated reality. By Zuko Mdwaba, area vice-president at Salesforce South Africa For retailers, it's never been more important to deliver excellent customer experiences alongside competitive prices...
Buy now pay later in SA will be a R2bn market by December
Hundreds of thousands of South Africans are paying for their goods by using buy now pay later (BNPL) which is growing 10% to 15% per month and recorded a 50% hike from the first to the second quarter of 2022. According to Payflex, South Africa's largest BNPL provider...
Is your retail business ready for the Amazon effect?
With Amazon reportedly set to launch in South Africa next year, forward-thinking retailers are starting to position themselves to defend and extend their share of the R30-billion per year retail e-commerce market. Those that are agile and innovative enough will...
What merchants and consumers need to know about RMS
When South Africa became the first country in the world to launch Authenticated Collections (Debicheck), replacing EDO (AEDO & NAEDO) with DebiCheck in 2021, consumers and merchants breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now Registered Mandate Services (RMS)...
Retailers brace for the post-pandemic landscape
There is little doubt that the pandemic has transformed the retail landscape for good, with a recent Flux Trends report highlighting that worldwide e-commerce sales will exceed $5-trillion for the first time this year, accounting for more than a fifth of overall...
How to do Black Friday better than the e-commerce giants
Black Friday shopping mania has been with Mzansi for over 10 years now, writes James Bayhack, sub-Saharan Africa director at CM.com. Online retail giant Takealot launched its first Black Friday sale in 2011, generating a turnover of R1-million. Seven years later,...
Online retailers set to bolster the checkout experience with click and collect
With Covid-19 almost a thing of the past, customers continue to shop online. Over the past two and a half years, we've seen a radical shift in retail with more merchants migrating online in an effort to simulate the brick-and-mortar store experience in a virtual...
KFC opens high-tech, high-touch restaurant in Pinelands
KFC South Africa has launched a new restaurant that not only ensures a better customer experience, but is also ultra-modern and features some of the latest restaurant technology. “There is no doubt that the restaurant business as we know it has changed and as we move...
Retailers using AI should be aware of privacy and cybercrime issues
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being deployed to help shoppers make better choices, but retailers must be aware of their obligations under personal privacy and cyber crimes laws. By Wendy Tembedza, partner at Webber Wentzel The acceleration of the fourth industrial...
How retailers can retain customers amid a worldwide buying slump
Due to the pandemic, the global economic climate has remained unstable and volatile during the last two years. Global inflation is expected to increase by around 10%, and with supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty on the rise, consumer purchasing power is...
Boxer signs up with Relex Solutions
Boxer has selected Relex Solutions, provider of unified retail planning solutions, to implement forecasting and replenishment for its stores and distribution centres. As one of South Africa's fastest-growing discounters, Boxer will leverage the Relex solution in more...
How to drive long-term customer retention
The stats speak for themselves. Firstly, there has been a 169% increase in online purchases from new or low-frequency online shoppers. Secondly, more than 80% of consumers who increased their omnichannel digital usage during the pandemic expect to continue with these....