A new report by Forrester (US) has signalled major growth within the e-commerce realm. The industry is set to grow at 10% per annum in both the Americas as well as Europe (compound annual growth rate). The study also confirmed findings that the ecommerce sector was still growing significantly faster than its brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Analysts noted that a large contributor to the reports positivity in general was the rise in Smartphones and Tablets being used by consumers, which was promoting more time spent online and a greater number of buying opportunities being presented to users. This is important to note when dealing with the South African market, as the penetration of mobile browsers is greatly accelerated due to the high costs of a fixed line alternative
Interesting to note was the type of player fuelling this growth; in most cases it’s the traditional retailers who are investing heavily in their online presence. In South Africa, we have seen mild penetration by major players in everyday consumer commerce. Only now is Pick ‘n Pay getting serious about the availability of its online service, and a recent push from Woolworths should yield some interesting results in the months to come. Spar is yet to make a move away from their online recipe bank, and Checkers thinks that online shoppers are only interested in party platters.
The question is, with such a large difference in the market structure when comparing South Africa to the Americas & Europe, will we make the leap and allow e-commerce to become an everyday function within our lives? Here at Sovtech, we think it’s a no-brainer.
[The Forrester report can be found here]
