There is no doubt that South Africans love to shop – but gone are the tedious days of packing your family into a minivan, battling the road rage and then having to fight for a parking bay at the mall.
Online retailing in Africa is growing at such a rapid rate with already well over 800 retail sites in South Africa alone, according to Internet researchers World Wide Worx.
In a recent report released by the International World Statistics, the number of Internet users on the African continent has grown at seven-times the global average, hitting a 3 600% growth between 2000 and 2012, to a total of 167-million users.
Online shopping is increasingly becoming popular as fears of using credit cards and submitting personal information, such as delivery details online, diminishes. More consumers are getting in on the action with banking sectors supporting a vastly growing m-commerce sector by enabling mobile transactions and payments through platforms such as PayPal.
The report also revealed that, globally, mobile broadband would see a growth of 32% by the end of 2014 with a 21% penetration in developing countries. With Africa leading the growth at close to 20% in 2014, it’s no wonder e-commerce is dominating the headlines, and marketing strategies.
From FMCG to manufacturing and luxury goods, industries across the board are successfully moving their enterprise forward into a new domain and into the e-commerce space. Developing their own online retail platforms, companies are aiming to produce a rich, user-centric and consumer-focused online retail experience, which matches their expectations.
The eCommerce Africa Conference & Exhibition will bring together senior-level e-commerce and marketing professionals from all major industries, in the aim to educate, inform and inspire entrepreneurs and businesses alike. The event will take place from 3 to 4 February 2015 at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa.
Event highlights include an expert-led advisory panel which includes Raphael Afaedor, co-founder of Jumia, and CEO and co-founder of Supermart; Jaco Jonker, CEO of bidorbuy.co.za; and Paul Galatis, director of Yuppiechef.com.
Exhibitors and sponsors include FNB, Dimension Data, iGroup, Trustwave South Africa, Amazon Web Services, PayPal, PayFast, Nedbank, BuyDirect, RAM Couriers, and AWA Digital and eSolutions.
