e-commerce Archives - Page 3 of 3

10Dec

By Josephine WawiraNo Comments

How Black Friday is giving Africa’s economy a lift

It is quite phenomenal how in recent years, both ecommerce players and retailers have used Black Friday to sweep thrifty shoppers off their feet. So much that the shopping event is no longer restricted to a single-day shopping spree but has rather taken over the entire month to become Black November. If you drove around the streets of Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg for instance, the number of billboards showing discounted Black Friday sales as well as digital advertisements are proof of the retailers’ craze to maximize consumer spend during the BF period. Undoubtedly, the ripple effect that Black Friday sales have on African economies cannot be overlooked. According to Black Friday Global, a marketing website, Black Friday sales are 1,331% and 1,952% higher than average-day sales in the c...

Tearing down barriers for the growth of African rural e-commerce

3Sep

By Josephine WawiraNo Comments

Main, Tanzania News

Tearing down barriers for the growth of African rural e-commerce

By Josephine Wawira The rise and growth of e-commerce in the world and primarily in Africa has created a lot of business opportunities, not only in urban but also in rural areas. The good news is that there is undoubtedly increased connectivity, reaching even the previously inaccessible remote villages across the continent and connecting them with e-commerce. Over the past approximately three years, the market has been noted to move substantially in the direction of developing logistics meant to tear down barriers for e-commerce penetration in rural markets. Consequently, online retailers can now reach customers in remote cities, while locals have access to a variety of products from major urban cities. While over 50% of the world is now connected to the internet, only 36% of the African p...

Friday@Noon on E-commerce in Africa: 2018

3Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Business, Egypt News, Kenya News, Nigeria News, Tech

Friday@Noon on E-commerce in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The growth and continuation of e-commerce in Africa has received various boosts during 2018. Africa’s leading online shopping platform, Jumia, reported in 2018 it wanted to make Egypt its biggest market on the continent, and it’s turning to Egypt’s vast network of unlicensed vendors for help. Jumia wants a 10-fold growth in revenue from Egypt and a 6-fold growth in the number of products offered on its platform by 2021. To achieve that, Jumia is urging the government to regulate informal retailers by offering them tax incentives and cheap loans that would allow them to market their goods online. The informal economy ac...

Online Marketplaces Could Create 3 Million Jobs in Africa by 2025

3Apr

By Josephine WawiraNo Comments

Business, Tech

Online Marketplaces Could Create 3 Million Jobs in Africa by 2025

Online marketplaces such as Jumia, Souq, Uber, and Travelstart could create around 3 million new jobs by 2025 across Africa. These digital platforms, which match buyers and providers of goods and services, could also raise incomes and boost inclusive economic growth with minimal disruption to existing businesses and workforce norms. These are among the findings of a new report, titled How Online Marketplaces Can Power Employment in Africa, released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Generating employment is an urgent priority across the continent. The African Development Bank estimates that one-third of the 420 million Africans age 15 through 35 were unemployed as of 2015. Around 58% of the new jobs—created directly, indirectly, and through the additional economic activity generated by onli...

30Dec

By Isabelle LurquinNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Transformation in Africa’s digital retail landscape

Undeniably, digital transformation continues to dramatically change the way we live and do business – almost daily it seems. Globally, the retail industry is one of the top industries in which we are seeing massive strides and changes when it comes to the adoption of technology, the evolving customer journey, and innovation in terms of products and services. Africa's retail landscape is no exception. On the face of it markets in Africa are outperforming some first world countries in their pace of transformation to meet the needs of the rising digitally-savvy customer population – a consumer base which is now generally better informed, and demanding a more personalised, convenient, on demand service. The retail journey is no longer about merely walking into a store and grabbing something ...

17Jul

By AfricaBusiness.comNo Comments

African News

Mobile Retail Commerce Rises While Social Shopping Drops in Second Quarter, Reports IBM

ARMONK, N.Y., July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile shopping rose while social media sales fell, providing an indication of where US retailers may invest in order to capture the attention and loyalty of the digital consumer, according to a new report from IBM (NYSE: IBM). The IBM Retail Online Index, a cloud-based analysis of the online retail sector reported that retailers experienced 15 percent growth in sales from mobile devices but saw a 20 percent decline in sales traced to social media based on a much smaller base over this three-month period. This report follows today's news from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Census Bureau which announced its estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales. According to the findings, retail sales fell 0.5 percent in June from May, the third ...