Black Friday dominated the retail space last week, and today we celebrate Cyber Monday. Checkers, the first SA food retailer to have taken part in the one-day extravaganza, teamed up with Uber to offer the first 1,000 new users a free (up to R100 each way) return trip to any Checkers store. In the case of high online traffic caused by such events, Sven Hammar explains how to understand your site's usage and load characteristics as a gauge for interpreting how much work an online platform performs, and how well it performs under stress. On the state of social shopping, Matt Zajechowsk provides an introduction to e-commerce integrations for social media, supported by an interesting infographic on the subject. Some exciting launches: Footwear manufacturer New Balance is experimenting with 3D printing, having announced the upcoming launch of the first ever high performance running shoe with a 3D-printed midsole. Krispy Kreme launched in SA at The Zone @ Rosebank in Johannesburg on Wednesday, seeing over 200 fans camp out the night before, and another few hundred joining the queue throughout the day. While Toys R Us launched a gaming and electronic site called RZone. Woolworths Food has completed the first phase of removing confectionery from checkout aisles of 104 stores, with plans to implement the change in an additional 62 stores by the end of June next year; the remaining to be completed in a phased approach over the next two years.
Jessica Taylor, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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