As e-commerce gains traction in South Africa, a lot can be learned from the United Kingdom, one of the world’s largest e-commerce markets.
According to Michael Marienfeld, director for Europe at The Logistics Business, e-commerce is still untapped locally.
“In the UK customer expectations are for same day or at the latest next day deliveries while the use of payment options such as credit cards, PayPal and debit cards is widespread,” he said. “E-commerce growth has been fuelled in this economy and in Europe by the infrastructure and logistics services that are well established. There is a wide choice of delivery, for example.”
Locally e-commerce growth is hampered by a number of factors – from the lack of Internet connectivity to the fewer delivery options and difficulty finding people in remote locations.
“In the European context omnichannels have been established meaning you can order in one place, deliver in another, return in a third and pay in a fourth. In South Africa it is still very embryonic.”
But, he said, e-commerce was gaining traction as there were models available to overcome some of the logistical challenges faced locally. Methods such as click and collect – buying it online and fetching it from a store or warehouse oneself – made sense in a cash economy such as South Africa where the safety of online payments remained a serious concern for many people.
“There are also new methods where one does not have to have a credit card but can pay with a mobile phone for example,” he said.
According to Marienfeld success in the e-commerce field is driven by two factors – competitive pricing and efficient delivery. In the UK nearly 60% of all non-food items were being purchased online, he said.
“E-commerce has put pressure on the supply chain to deliver. It requires improved picking productivity, faster loading, more flexibility and later cut-offs for orders,” he said.
