Customers want last-mile delivery transparency
Consumers wanted real-time visibility on their online orders even before the pandemic turned the world upside down and propelled ecommerce to unprecedented heights. The results of a survey published by YouGov and cloud applications provider Infor in May 2020 found...
The 24/7 Black Friday: manage the extended shopping season
The evolution of 24/7 Black Friday specials from a single-day shopping event to a month-long retail phenomenon reflects changing consumer behaviours and strategic adaptations by retailers and logistics companies. This transformation is particularly evident in South...
Prioritise customer security for Black Friday, festive sales
As online businesses gear up for Black Friday and the festive season, this is the time to prioritise security – and make sure customers know exactly what measures you’ve put in place, writes Caesar Tonkin, MD of Armata Cyber Security. Consumers are prioritising the...
How to uphold service quality through a decentralised marketplace model
As e-commerce surges globally, online marketplaces are finding exciting and innovative ways to approach the decentralised nature of the trading space. According to data gathering and visualisation specialist Statista, e-commerce sales are expected to exceed...
Regulators crack down on employee messaging
It is vital for employees to understand how to conduct themselves during dawn raids or interactions with regulators. Failure to do so may result in significant consequences for the employer. By Clare-Alice Vertue, partner, Karl Blom, partner, Siya Ngcamu, senior...
Costly last-mile delivery challenges e-commerce
Last-mile delivery is one of the costliest areas of the supply chain. The combination of multiple delivery routes, packing and packaging, and dispatch waiting times saddles ecommerce businesses with prices that, on average, range from R90 to R900 per package....
An added layer of card security for online shoppers
Mastercard has announced enhancements to its Identity Check programme that will give South African cardholders an extra layer of protection at checkout. According to SABRIC, in 2022 card not present (CNP) fraud amounted to 76,9% of the gross fraud losses on South...
What you need to know about SARS’ increased online duties
The clothing and textile industry has faced widescale criticism for controversial Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. South African consumers may imagine themselves to be far from the hub of these issues, but we are all participants in the global...
DHL GIBS Route to Market Challenge winner announced
Colin Mkosi, the founder of Cloudy Deliveries, has emerged as the winner of the DHL GIBS Route to Market Challenge 2024. The business offers last-mile delivery services primarily in township markets by using bicycles to fulfil deliveries from local restaurants,...
LG offers direct sales with Payfast by Network
LG has opened its first direct-to-consumer ecommerce store in South Africa, with Payfast by Network supporting online transactions. “We are immensely proud to be supporting a brand of LG’s calibre in their first ecommerce venture,” says David Adams, the southern...
Are your data dashboards smoke and mirrors, or delivering real value?
Almost all studies show that 90% of information is transmitted to the brain visually, so it is little wonder that data visualisation has become so important as an ecommerce business intelligence tool. As consumer demand increases with the advent of new technologies,...
Smart shipping software aids environmental sustainability
The findings of PwC's inaugural Voice of the Consumer Survey paint a clear picture of consumers' changing attitudes towards goods that are responsibly sourced and do no harm to the environment. The findings, released by the professional services multinational in May,...