At the top of Kalahari.net GM Gary Novitzkas' wish list is ubiquitous broadband connectivity, compelling content, payment variety and an entrepreneurial spirit that would change the South African digital commerce landscape.
Kalahari.net is SA's oldest and, arguably, most prominent online retailer, having been in e-commerce for 12 years. Through its Naspers ownership, it is the most powerful in terms of marketing and making its presence felt.
According to research by World Wide Works, there are about 5.8 million South Africans accessing the Internet, or just 12% of the total population. This audience is expected to grow to about 6.2 million by year-end. As a subset of this, the South African online retail environment is in a constant state of positive change and strong growth.
Latest research from World Wide Worx shows about 3.6 million South Africans have the propensity to shop online by the end of this year.
However, Internet retailing is a transient sector. Its low barriers to entry and low operating costs imply that almost anyone can set up shop, but developing and maintaining customer attention and loyalty that will translate into revenue is the real challenge.
Fickle customers
Retail customers are notoriously fickle, and this behaviour is even more pronounced in the online environment.
This means price is not the be all and end all of online retail shopping, Novitzkas contends. The entire experience must be easy and safe, with the final result a successful fulfilment of the purchase.
“In other words, a value-driven shopping experience results in customer loyalty. Everything we do always starts from the premise, 'how will this improve the customer experience?' whether they are a first-time or returning customer,” Novitzkas says.
World Wide Worx's research shows consumers put price quite far down at the bottom of their list when shopping online; however, the prices must be comparable.
Novitzkas says while it appears easy to enter the online retail space, it is not that easy to offer a compelling product, reputation, trust and customer service.
Brands like Kalahari.net can do this as they have earned the loyalty of customers over many years.
“We believe that the opportunity now exists to enlarge the e-commerce ecosystem by providing the trust that allows smaller online retailers to capitalise on our success through the Kalahari Marketplace, thus creating a virtuous circle,” Novitzkas says.
Payment
While a lot is being done to secure the actual payments like extended validation SSL, one-time passwords and education, there is still some way to go on the variety of payment options available to the online consumer, says Novitzkas.
While there are six million credit card users able to make online purchases, there are also 12 million debit card users without a viable online solution, he adds.
“In addition, SA has nine million Web-enabled mobile phones in use, which leads to mobile payments playing a more vigorous role in e-commerce, and this is a space that Naspers expect to deliver significant value to their customers in the future,” Novitzkas says.
Need for speed
“The need for connectivity and broadband is vitally important, because there is a direct correlation between this and e-commerce growth in the market. A forward-thinking company like MWeb has turned the market on its head with their uncapped offering,” says Novitzkas.
“Imagine being able to download your entire academic syllabus on eBooks or have access to on-demand television of the entire 'Grey's series'. This will change the face of digital downloads,” he adds.
The minimum broadband speed needed is more that 10Mb/s, Novitzkas maintains.
The success of e-commerce is evident worldwide, and SA has a history of following these media, retail and online trends. “What we need is the entrepreneurial spirit in both big and small companies that have a long-term view and a bias for action, and who realise that e-commerce is the next logical step in their business evolution,” Novitzkas says.
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