- Title: South African e-commerce is a COVID-fired market of risk and reward
- Date: 15th July 2020
- Summary: DELIVERY RIDER PICKING UP THE BEER FROM THE LOCAL SHOP VARIOUS OF DELIVERY RIDER ON HIS WAY TO DELIVER THE BEER SIYEZA DELIVERY APP AND A DELIVERY RIDER TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIYEZA DELIVERY APP FOUNDER, THULANI MKHABELA, SAYING: "Siyeza Delivery started as delivering food from your local shisanyama (barbeque), your kota (quarter loaf), your franchises like Chicken Licken where they don't have apps. But now that people have been asking for your medication, we have also extended the pharmacy side, the laundry side, the beverage side, the clothing. So as you go and you get to see our customers to help us in also giving us ideas." VARIOUS OF DELIVERY GUY PICKING UP AN ORDER FROM THE PHARMACY (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIYEZA DELIVERY APP FOUNDER, THULANI MKHABELA, SAYING: "When the president announced the lockdown, everyone was frustrated, a lot of people were scared of the virus which we still are. And we found a niche market where I can locate drivers and create an app that will allow you at your door or at your home to sit and just order food and come to you with everything. I mean right now, your competitors, your Uber and your MrDelivery they can't even reach to our townships due to the restrictions and our ways. Now that we know our people also know our routes, it's easy to alert our drivers to go to everyone, to their customers." JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 14, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHECKERS ONLINE DELIVERY SERVICE CHECKERS DELIVERY RIDER PACKING FOOD DELIVERY RIDER ON THE ROAD JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 15, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ONLINE DELIVERY CUSTOMER, KUBASHNEE MOODLEY SAYING: "I work from home, so online shopping was quite attractive to me in the sense that it added to a component of safety and also convenience during this time. My first experience with online shopping was quite frustrating, I felt that I was losing money because often I'd order weren't…the order wouldn't be complete a hundred percent and then also because of delivery times, even though specific instruction were given, there was really no communication with regards to if the delivery was gonna fall outside of work hours or within so that became quite frustrating. So all in all it was not great and I did feel that I lost money through that process because of deliveries not being honoured and still being charged for delivery costs." JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JUNE 28, 2020) (REUTERS) SIYEZA DELIVERY RIDER PULLING UP AT CUSTOMER'S HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIYEZA DELIVERY CUSTOMER, MATSHIDISO CHABA, SAYING: "It's very easy because you don't have to go outside. So you order and they bring your food at your gate so it is convenient." SIYEZA RIDER PICKING UP A DELIVERY/ PUTTING IT INTO HIS MOTORBIKE SIYEZA RIDER ON THE ROAD DRIVER DELIVERING TO CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (English) SIYEZA DELIVERY CUSTOMER, MFANA MABASO, SAYING: "Before we didn't have these types of services around this area you know, in Tembisa. So with Siyeza Delivery, I'm able to order things, plus I work from home." ANOTHER SIYEZA DELIVERY JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JUNE 19, 2020) (REUTERS) DELIVERY GUYS WAITING FOR ORDERS CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (JULY 13, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) E-COMMERCE DIRECTOR, ONEDAYONLY.CO.ZA, LAURIAN VENTER, SAYING: "We've seen a 30-40 percent growth in online sales since the start of lockdown and that growth pattern is continuing to go on the up and up. We've noticed that people were originally just shopping online because they wanted to stay home and stay safe and then we noticed more and more now that people who've never ever shopped with us before are shopping with us and now are coming back and continuing to shop with us. I think they've noticed a) that you are safe getting safer secure deliveries right to your front door but more than that you have the convenience of being able to shop from the comfort of your own home." JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JUNE 18, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DELIVERY RIDER LOOKING AT HIS PHONE
- Embargoed: 29th July 2020 10:59
- Keywords:
- Location: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
- City: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
- Country: South Africa
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA003CMX5GLZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Africa's township entrepreneurs are seizing the moment with more people forced to stay at home as the country sees a peak in coronavirus cases.
After quitting his job because of lockdown, Thulani Mkhabela, saw a gap in the market for an online delivery app, that will service marginalised areas, while creating jobs for the unemployed.
Siyeza Delivery couriers pharmacy order, clothes, fast foods and groceries.
"When the President announced the lockdown, everyone was frustrated, a lot of people were scared of the virus which we still are. And we found a niche market where I can locate drivers and create an app that will allow you at your door or at your home to sit and just order food and come to you with everything. I mean right now, your competitors, your Uber and your MrDelivery they can't even reach to our townships due to the restrictions and our ways. Now that we know our people also know our routes, it's easy to alert our drivers to go to everyone, to their customers," Mkhabela said.
Having long lagged behind much of the world, retailers and delivery start-ups in Africa's most advanced economy are experiencing an e-commerce boom as consumers shy away from shops during the pandemic.
Grocery leaders like Pick n Pay and Checkers, and online retailers including OneDayOnly have seen an explosion in demand.
But what should be a boom for businesses suffering a sharp decline in foot traffic is straining the capacity of even South Africa's largest retailers, with customers complaining of long wait times and poor service.
Like many of her compatriots, Kubashnee Moodley took her first steps as an online shopper during South Africa's COVID-19 lockdown.
She is not a satisfied customer.
Once she was charged for a parcel she never received. Then there were the time groceries arrived at her Johannesburg home after dark.
"My first experience with online shopping was quite frustrating, I felt that I as losing money because often I would order goods that weren't…the order wouldn't be completed a hundred percent and also in terms of delivery times, even though specific instructions were given, there was really no communication with regards to if the delivery was going to fall outside of work hours or within, so that became quite frustrating," Moodley said.
Sorting out those growing pains will dictate which companies emerge from the pandemic as e-commerce leaders and who gets left behind.
Despite the glitches, analysts have been surprised by the growth in of the industry over the lockdown period.
"We've seen a 30-40 percent growth in online sales since the start of lockdown and that growth pattern is continuing to go on the up and up. We've noticed that people were originally just shopping online because they wanted to stay home and stay safe and then we noticed more and more now that people who've never ever shopped with us before are shopping with us and now are coming back and continuing to shop with us," E-commerce Director at OneDayOnly.co.za, Laurian Venter said.
E-commerce accounted for just 1.6%, or $1.2 billion, of South African retail sales in 2019, according to London-based market research firm Euromonitor.
In the United States, that figure is 14.8%. Even Kenya, with just a third of South Africa's per capita GDP, shops more online.
But Euromonitor expects sales to double this year. Consumer analysts Nielsen South Africa see up to 200% growth in online food purchases. A survey conducted by Visa found 64% of consumers bought groceries online for the first time due to the virus, while 53% made their first online purchase from a pharmacy.
"It's very easy because you don't have to go outside. So, you order and they bring your food at your gate so it is convenient," said Matshidiso Chaba, a regular Siyeza Delivery customer.
When lockdown restrictions imposed in late March were loosened in May, market researchers Urban Studies found only 50-70% of customers returned to shopping centres.
(Shafiek Tassiem, Sisipho Skweyiya) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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