TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      ANC puts spectrum trading firmly back on the table

      25 May 2022

      Reunert hikes dividend in tough market

      25 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E03 – ‘The story of Intel – part 1’

      25 May 2022

      Management shake-up at TymeBank – including a new CEO

      24 May 2022

      Standard Bank CEO apologises for weekend downtime

      24 May 2022
    • World

      Big Tech’s latest dive snuffs out hopes the worst is over

      25 May 2022

      iPhone 14 development schedule delayed by China lockdowns: report

      25 May 2022

      Tesla shares continue to plunge

      25 May 2022

      Terra collapse triggers $83-billion DeFi slump

      24 May 2022

      Zuckerberg sued in personal capacity over Cambridge Analytica

      24 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Bernie Fanaroff – the scientist who put African astronomy on the map

      23 May 2022

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022
    • Podcasts

      The rewarding and lucrative careers to be had in infosec

      23 May 2022

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E01 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 1’

      10 May 2022

      Llew Claasen on how exchange controls are harming SA tech start-ups

      2 May 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Promoted Content»There is no ‘back to normal’ after Covid-19

    There is no ‘back to normal’ after Covid-19

    Promoted Content By BCX21 July 2020
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Click the infographic above for a larger version

    In the age of the pandemic, for retail companies that have dragged their feet rather than sprinting toward digital transformation, it may already be too late. As “retail futurist” Doug Stephens explains, in response to the restrictions on movement forced upon the market by Covid-19 – lockdown, social distancing, quarantine, self-isolation – “consumers go looking for alternatives to get them through the short term, but those alternatives may change their behaviour over the long term.”

    The South African retail market, previously slow to digitalise, has by necessity reached a watershed of disruption.

    Research conducted in February by Coresight and reported by Business Insider indicated that 74.6% of US internet users would avoid malls and shopping centres if the outbreak worsened, and 52.7% would avoid physical stores entirely.

    Read: Retail innovation in the time of Covid-19

    There is no guarantee that post-Covid – once a vaccine, a cure or at least a reliable serology test can definitively mark individuals as “safe” – consumers will flock back to brick-and-mortar stores. Once they develop a taste for the ease of e-commerce, customers are unlikely to revert to old, less convenient habits.

    The home delivery revolution that Covid has thrust upon South African society is unlikely to go away

    The home delivery revolution that Covid has thrust upon South African society is unlikely to go away. Investec’s Focus podcast puts it pretty succinctly: “Go big, or go online.”

    To survive this period of disruption, companies will need to lean smarter. Increasing homogeneity of pricing means the winners in this race will be those that find other ways to differentiate themselves. Technology solutions, such as leveraging data and AI to track inventory and proactively replenish fast-moving stock, can help retailers manage their buying processes and supply chain and ensure no customer ever need face the disappointment of a much-needed item being out of stock.

    Single view

    Meanwhile, cloud technology monitoring customer interaction with e-commerce platforms provides a single view of products from buying to delivery, ensuring speedier shipping and delivery. Applying technology and innovative thinking to such challenges helps drive a better, seamless shopping experience for customers — and hence greater retention and repeat purchasing.

    Globally, those companies that have focused for the last decade on innovation, especially on adapting from bricks-and-mortar to e-commerce, or to a combination of the two, are surviving the pandemic far better than those that have not. Yet, Blake Morgan of Forbes says what while “70% of companies had a digital transformation in place or were working on one … most companies were not far enough along to make Covid-19 a non-issue”.

    In South Africa, one of the most concentrated retail markets in the world, 85% of mall space is rented to the handful of large corporates that dominate the landscape. Yet less than 2% of these traditional retailers’ business is done online and, pre-Covid, most of them would have forecast this to increase to around 5% by 2025.

    Not every business can suddenly achieve the footprint and market share of a Takealot, which in its current incarnation has had a 10-year head-start, not to mention the power of Naspers behind it. Retailers seeking to jumpstart their online profitability should look to operational drivers like automation, AI and XaaS to save costs, digitalise their business and provide a seamless customer experience.

    So, how can innovation, especially e-commerce, see South African businesses through this undeniably critical period?

    Partnerships

    • Pick n Pay and Bottles (which, under lockdown levels 4 and 5, has been unable to practise its core business of online liquor sales): The long-established grocery retailer has leveraged the agility and distribution/logistics capabilities of the online platform to increase its e-commerce and home delivery capacity.

    Adaptability

    • NetFlorist recognised that flower sales were unlikely to be classed as an essential service and quickly added food deliveries to its offerings.
    • Cape Union Mart announced it would be working with suppliers to manufacture and supply face masks and other personal protective equipment.

    Differentiation

    • Shoprite’s new Checkers Sixty60 app – “The Uber of food” – differs from other grocery apps in that it guarantees delivery of orders within 60 minutes. On 12 May, Sixty60’s ultra-quick delivery was available from nine branches; by 25 May that number had risen to 26 across three provinces.

    Acknowledging and serving the lower tier of South Africa’s two-tier economy

    Pepkor has solved for a number of systems issues that might otherwise have been stumbling blocks to successful e-commerce in the country’s unusual economy:

    • Delivery: Solutions in place for delivering to customers who may not have a formal address.
    • Cashless nature of e-commerce: The unbanked are able to take advantage of Pepkor’s online offerings by buying Flash vouchers, which can be used for online purchases, for cash at till points in spaza shops.
    • Buying for others not within one’s immediate household: PAXI is an alternative to the Post Office in which branches of Pepkor retailers such as PEP and Ackermans also function as delivery depots.

    Find out how technology and innovation can streamline your business and provide frictionless shopping experiences for your customers.

    About BCX
    At BCX we consider ourselves your partners, and we take care of your technology so that you can focus on your customers’ needs. The goal of every member of our team of over 6 000 people is to maximise your productivity, increase your profits, and most of all, future-proof your business.

    BCX offers a complete service in ICT. We take care of your technology so that your workforce is free to focus on your customers’ needs, build productivity, grow profits and embark on the journey to digital transformation.

    Our track record of reliability, stability and consistency speaks for itself. Before Telkom’s acquisition of the company in 2015, Business Connexion had been running since 1996, when it was founded by 23-year-old twin brothers Benjamin and Isaac Mophatlane. The company was listed on the JSE in 2004, after a merger with Comparex Africa. Today we work with businesses from tiny start-ups to JSE-listed enterprises and international corporations.

    For more information, contact us on +27 (0) 21 550 3000.

    • This promoted content was paid for by the party concerned
    BCX Business Connexion
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleVideo comes to Spotify
    Next Article Adobe, IBM team up on marketing software for banking industry

    Related Posts

    Fortinet’s FortiNDR accelerates threat detection with advanced AI

    25 May 2022

    Collaborative problem solving sets our partners on a growth path

    25 May 2022

    You are the weakest link: how to stop the costliest Internet scam

    25 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Fortinet’s FortiNDR accelerates threat detection with advanced AI

    25 May 2022

    Collaborative problem solving sets our partners on a growth path

    25 May 2022

    You are the weakest link: how to stop the costliest Internet scam

    25 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.