It's no secret that online shopping is taking off in South Africa. In fact, studies show that the local e-commerce market is expected to reach almost twenty-five million online shoppers by 2021 - a considerable number given our internet penetration is at around 50%, give or take 10% depending on which study you read. However, the other 50% still enjoy an offline shopping experience and, it goes without saying, even online shoppers like visiting an actual store. 12 Sep 2018
The clothing, pharmaceutical, medical goods, cosmetics and toiletry sectors outperformed the South African retail market for July 2018, showing year-on-year growth of 3.9% and 4.6% respectively, excluding the effects of inflation. This is according to the Mastercard SpendingPulse July 2018 report, which provides a macro-economic analysis of retail spending trends in South Africa. 12 Sep 2018
The winners have been revealed for the 12th annual Pentawards, a prestigious worldwide competition devoted exclusively to packaging design. This year's gala ceremony was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on 6 September 2018, which hosted over 280 of the most creative and innovative members of the global packaging design community. 12 Sep 2018
South African consumers are facing an increasingly stressful, time-starved lifestyle which has created a burgeoning demand for convenient solutions that can help simplify their lives. This lends itself to a host of untapped opportunities for South African manufacturers and retailers. 12 Sep 2018
Cape Town-based beverage company, Superlatte, scooped a Bronze award in the Food Trends Category at the prestigious Pentawards 2018, held in New York City on 6 September. 11 Sep 2018
Coca-Cola's £3.9 billion acquisition of Costa Coffee has made quite a ripple. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola is obviously best known for its soft drinks portfolio, found in supermarkets, kiosks, hotels, bars and restaurants around the world. 11 Sep 2018
In preparation for Black Friday, retailers need to scale their systems, leverage big data analytics and tools and capitalise on an exceptional customer experience well before the manic shopping event hits. This is according to Gareth Hawkey, group CEO at enterprise retail software development company RedPanda Software. 11 Sep 2018
Revenues in South Africa's technical consumer goods market climbed 8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018, boosted by a 16% rise in the telecommunications sector and a 17,4% increase in small domestic appliances, according to point of sale data from market research firm, GfK South Africa. The data also shows that the major domestic appliances and consumer IT segments grew by 3% and 6.6% respectively. 11 Sep 2018
South Africans are forecasted to spend over R45 billion online this year, with over 60% making a purchase from an overseas retailer. This is according to the fourth annual cross-border e-commerce report released by PayPal and Ipsos, which shows that online shopping is on a steady incline in the country. 11 Sep 2018
The announcement in June that SA's online fashion juggernauts, Spree and Superbalist, will merge into one focused platform, left many questions regarding the branding of the new entity. 10 Sep 2018
Even though the positive impact of digital transformation has been lauded, there are still instances where more traditional approaches are preferred. In part, this can be attributed to the economic realities of consumers in more developing markets. 10 Sep 2018
British luxury fashion brand Burberry is putting an end to its practice of destroying unsold product, instead announcing that it will be expanding on its efforts to reuse, repair, donate or recycle unsaleable goods. 10 Sep 2018
Zimbabwe is set to be the next country of origin for Nespresso's popular range of coffees. The unit of Nestle SA expects to start selling limited-edition Zimbabwe coffee capsules to global consumers in 2019. 10 Sep 2018
The annual Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) provides an opportunity to re-educate and convince consumers that local designers have the talent and know-how to develop products that can compete with, or even trump, imports. 7 Sep 2018
In an increasingly tough economic environment, businesses must do all they can to not only attract new customers, but look after existing ones - especially those who are categorised as 'high value' or absolutely essential to the survival of the business. 7 Sep 2018
September 2018 marks 80 years that Cadbury Dairy Milk has been enjoyed in South Africa. The chocolate brand will be celebrating the anniversary by launching eight heritage packs, showcasing some of the various Cadbury Dairy Milk designs throughout its history in the country. 7 Sep 2018
South African-based Point of Sale payments provider, Yoco, has raised $16million in a Series B funding round led by Partech, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, Europe and Africa, with participation from Orange Digital Ventures, FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) and existing Series A investors Quona Capital and Velocity Capital. 7 Sep 2018
Design student Hannah Smith has been named the winner of the Number One Mageu Art & Soul Competition. Last month, the popular beverage brand embarked on a nationwide search for South Africa's freshest design talent. Entrants were challenged to create a highly unique design for the Number One Mageu's iconic banana packaging. 6 Sep 2018
For years, the threat of online shopping to brick-and-mortar has dominated the conversation in retail. The 2010s saw technological devices become more savvy and with that, buying things online became as easy as sending a text message. 6 Sep 2018
For any major production, whether it be theatre, a musical concert or a wedding, a 'dress rehearsal' is important to make sure things run smoothly on the big day. It's the ideal way to put everyone through the paces and deal with any possible problems or hiccups. Putting your online site through a technical dress rehearsal before high-traffic campaigns, including Black Friday, is no different. 6 Sep 2018
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