Amazon's less than prime time for SA launch will be significant challenge for e-commerce king

[Toby Shapshak] Having confirmed the worst-kept secret, the e-commerce giant will begin local operations, but only next year...

E-commerce Titans: Meet the duo behind Bash and Superbalist

[Karabo Ledwaba] Claude Hanan and Luke Jedeikin are behind two of the biggest e-commerce retail sites in South Africa: Bash and Superbalist...

OneDayOnly's Laurian Venter on maintaining e-commerce momentum post-pandemic

[Lauren Hartzenberg] According to OneDayOnly director Laurian Venter, the daily deals retailer grew massively during the pandemic, and the period provided the impetus to transition into a more modern, future-fit e-commerce business...

Nurturing the growth of e-commerce in South Africa

[Lauren Hartzenberg] As a dynamic industry on the precipice of explosive growth, staying relevant in e-commerce requires keeping up with the constantly shifting landscape, said PayFast's David Adams ahead of the PayFast eCommerce Virtual Summit...

E-tail and CX: Meet customers where they are, the way they want

[David Meintjes] Personalisation is in many ways the golden key to the much-vaunted but often neglected "customer experience", says Telviva CEO David Meintjes...

Don't be blinded by Black Friday - your customers aren't - Rogerwilco

[Craig Hannabus] South Africans will spend R56.8bn on retail goods online this year, representing a year-on-year growth of 39%. There is a terrific opportunity here...

#Newsmaker: New PayFast and PayGate MD looks to shift the payments paradigm

[Lauren Hartzenberg] Brendon Williamson believes we've only just scratched the surface of payments innovation and the meaningful impact it can have on our lives...

How to compete with the e-commerce giants this Black Friday

[James Bayhack] If you're gearing up to make the most of this year's Black Friday frenzy, here's what you can learn from the big fish, according to CM.com's James Bayhack...

TFG beta launches Bash platform - 200 brands, 1 destination

[Lauren Hartzenberg] TFG has quietly taken the covers off its latest online retail destination, Bash.com, which retail group describes as "SA's largest omnichannel fashion and lifestyle shopping platform"...

Consumers plan to shop more on social media over next 3 years

[Zuko Mdwaba] For retailers, social media should be at the forefront of any marketing strategy, notes Salesforce South Africa's Zuko Mdwaba...

Social commerce - from content to commerce

[Michael Smollan] Mike Smollan, chief growth and innovation officer at Smollan, unpacks social commerce and how it's shifting shopping behaviours as social media platforms create opportunities for big and small brands...

Unlocking South Africa's next level of e-commerce growth

[Lauren Hartzenberg] As the pandemic subsides and shoppers return to physical stores, what's needed to build on the momentum of e-commerce growth in SA? PayFast's David Kusel weighs in...

#EcomAfrica: The must-have management shifts for e-commerce success

[Lauren Hartzenberg] As businesses seek to build upon the online retail momentum generated over the last few years, what are the management shifts necessary to enable a culture of excellence that drives D2C e-commerce success?

#EcomAfrica: Partnership, a pandemic and a pivot - the formation of Pick n Pay Asap

[Lauren Hartzenberg] At the recent Ecom Africa event, Pick n Pay Asap co-founder Vincent Viviers reflected on the early days of the Bottles startup and its path to being acquired and rebranded by one of SA's biggest retailers...

#EcomAfrica: Understand customers as people, not numbers - Alex Genov of Zappos

[Lauren Hartzenberg] As retailers double down on data science in a quest to understand customers, they must not lose sight of the fact that shoppers are in fact humans, not numbers on a spreadsheet, notes Alex Genov, head of customer research at Zappos...

#EcomAfrica: Online retail beyond the pandemic, with OneDayOnly's Laurian Venter

[Lauren Hartzenberg] Ahead of Ecom Africa, we chat with OneDayOnly's sales and marketing director about the growth trajectory of e-commerce and how the daily deals site is adapting to keep the customer at the centre of the business...

Outlook: E-commerce and the race for rapid delivery

[Lauren Hartzenberg] As familiarity with e-commerce services continues to grow so will consumer expectations around delivery, in particular, delivery times...

#StartupStory: How online grocery store Kuloola is simplifying rural life

[Ntandokazi Ntozakhe] Spotting a need for easier access to groceries in rural areas, Siyanda Mthethwa founded SA's first online rural grocery store Kuloola...

The rise of e-commerce and social interaction selling

[Danette Breitenbach] At the end of 2021 it is expected that SA's online retail sales will total R42bn. With the vaccine rollout and a return to business-as-usual on the horizon, 76% of merchants are feeling positive about the year ahead...

Choosing the right B2B e-commerce model - Bluegrass Digital

[Nick Durrant] Customer behaviour has changed significantly since the introduction of global restrictions and lockdowns. B2B sales organisations have quickly embarked on a digital transformation journey to meet customer demands and to sell goods and services online...