Use Black Friday to set your business up for success
The prevailing economy has seen a seismic shift in consumer behaviour and retailers hoping to cash in on the rapidly approaching shopping holidays will need to take a critical look at their strategies. Zaida Kamish, digital project manager at Incubeta SA Fortunately...
Data key for consumer loyalty as retailers look to AI
As the world transitions into the information age, data-driven insights, automation, and data management are becoming increasingly vital for business survival. For retail businesses in South Africa, whose success depends on maintaining a healthy customer base,...
Gen AI can help ease the burden of consumer decision-making
The South African retail landscape is contending with a range of challenges, such as high unemployment, severe inflation, shrinkflation, and the lingering effects of Covid-19. These pressures have transformed consumer expectations and added layers of complexity to...
Micro merchants embrace digital wallets
Fast-growing adoption of digital supplier payments among micro merchants and informal retailers such as spaza shops is helping to reduce security risks, costs and inefficiencies associated with cash payments right across the value chain. Digital wallets from fintechs...
Redefining retail through store reinvention
It was just four years ago during the pandemic - with consumers restricted to their homes and mall doors tightly shut, that online commerce began its unprecedented rise. This phenomenon left retailers thinking about the role of the actual store moving forward. Today,...
Shift to omnichannel payments drives efficiency, enhances CX
Even as more retailers turn to setting up online storefronts to extend their presence and cater to shoppers looking for convenience, the majority of South Africans still prefer to shop at physical stores, and retailers are looking for a solution that gives them a...
BNPL: risk versus value considerations for merchants
E-commerce merchants can't afford to ignore the advantages of buy now, pay later (BNPL) facilities and alternative credit solutions, but they should choose their BNPL partners with care. This is according to Anine de Kock, head of partnerships at Peach Payments, who...
How retailers can shift from multichannel to omnichannel payments
Retailers need to keep costs under control and reduce complexity in economic conditions that can best be described as uncertain and challenging. By Gary Bowers, product manager and Shaun Shehab, senior sales engineer at Ecentric Yet, despite this, they need to give...
Retailers should prepare for an uptick in consumer spending
South African retailers should get set for a recovery in retail sales between 2024 and 2026, according to a new report conducted on behalf of fintech Capital Connect. The report shows that total real retail sales are forecast to grow by 1.8% in 2024, gradually...
iKhokha expands retail presence
Fintech iKhokha has opened its eighth retail store, where their point-of-sale devices are sold and where merchants can access support, networking opportunities and other business enhancement tools. Since launching in 2012, iKhokha has developed a deep understanding...
How mid-market merchants can manage payment security
While the majority of people may not think twice about how they pay for their goods, ever-evolving retail payments, both in person and virtually, keep many CIOs awake at night worrying about where the next attack will come from and how best to mitigate against it. By...
SA retailers at an e-commerce crossroads
South Africa's e-commerce landscape has arrived at an important juncture. The explosive growth observed during the pandemic years has slowed down somewhat and consumer spending power has faltered amid low economic growth and a global cost of living crisis. At the same...