Franchising remains one of SA's most resilient sectors, despite being faced with challenging economic conditions. According to Fasa's latest survey, franchising boasts an estimated turnover of R721 billion, equivalent to 15,7% of the total South African GDP.
In other top news, we interviewed Asher Stern, co-founder of
Cape Town e-commerce startup Buyfresh, which delivers ethically-sourced, top-quality meat to discerning Cape Town omnivores as well as the city's restaurant trade. While Jason Pallant unpacks the
trends driving the future of retail, and Lynette Hundermark shares top tips for
effective customer engagement on mobile.
Meanwhile, Jane Battersby and Gareth Haysom uncover the myths, misinformation and lack of data surrounding the recent
accusations of 'fake food' being sold by foreign shop owners in SA.
Consumer confidence in South Africa dropped in Quarter 2 of 2018, according to The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, with a more constrained environment dampening consumer spend.
And last but not least, Tesco unveiled its
competitive new UK discount chain Jack's, and I round up my favourite food and beverage products that have hit the shelves in
#FreshOnTheShelf.
Until next week, enjoy!
Lauren Hartzenberg
Retail Editor: Bizcommunity.comComment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your retail news and event invitations to retailnews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-retail@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news". 
