South Africa ranks 5th globally on mobile data usage and, with the launch of cheaper smartphones on the market, this number is expected to increase. "The future of e-commerce in this country is in mobile. In many established markets, upwards of 40% of online purchases are made on mobile devices and we expect South Africa to follow this trend. Also consider that South Africa is a mobile first country and, with the recent launch of cheaper smartphones on the market, most notably the company's two dual-SIM Gobii smartphones, a mobile e-tail boom is imminent," says Caren Genthner-Kappesz, CEO of kalahari.com.
Online retail in South Africa has matured since its 1998 inception when the company launched. Back then, sales were predominantly in books and music, but today it offers 12 million products across more than 21 categories.
"A recent survey of our customer base revealed that 84% access the internet on their phone every day and 44% use it for shopping. Significantly, 48% felt that shopping on their smartphone was safer than shopping in a mall, and had the added convenience that it was quicker and made it really easy to compare prices."
With a mobile-friendly rebrand and gearshift towards mobile-first, the site is poised to lead the mobile shopping revolution in SA.
"We have had our iconic logo of a Khoisan man delivering the bright orange Kalahari sunshine since 1998. The internet has changed significantly since then and we now need a simpler logo that works better on mobile interfaces. We are pleased with the new logo - it is simple and striking and we get to keep our bright orange Kalahari sunshine," she concludes.
