Source: Sasha Planting, Daily Maverick, 14 March 2021 (First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper), photo credit: HostingAdvice.com
The Competition Commission has announced an inquiry into the trade practices of dominant e-commerce companies in SA. Could this boost the burgeoning online economy?
When Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel banned e-commerce during the lockdown, about 4,000 logistics and e-commerce businesses signed an open letter written by uAfrica’s Andy Higgins requesting home deliveries of non-essential goods be allowed during the lockdown. The reprieve was granted in mid-May 2020 and South Africa’s e-commerce space has since exploded.
In 2019, less than 2% of South African retail sales were via online platforms, although the sector was growing at 20% a year, according to local research firm World Wide Worx. But this has changed dramatically in the past year as retailers both new and existing have geared up to provide shoppers from pensioners to spaza shop owners with online service offerings ranging from food delivery to telemedicine services.
Kristen’s Kick-Ass Ice Cream survived lockdown by upgrading its website to accommodate orders, payment and delivery; Vuleka, a mobile app, initiated collective bulk-buying, warehousing and distribution of fast-moving consumer goods for spaza shops. This builds credit profiles for informal or unbanked business owners. And, with restaurants closed, both “dark” and light kitchens, along with purveyors of groceries, drove enormous growth in the delivery chain. Statista claims the market for 2020 online food delivery in South Africa was about R8.2-billion.
As small business owners were grappling with routes to market, Facebook stepped up with Facebook Shop, offering digital storefronts to more than 22 million South African users, according to a report from the Small Business Institute, titled Digitalisation: The Best Hope for SA and Small Business, in which much of the research cited was compiled.
Instagram offered product links in story adverts to people and businesses. Since October WhatsApp has allowed users to buy products from its chat interface and offers enterprise tools such as receipts and confirmations. Google announced plans last year to introduce the capacity to buy directly from tutorials or product reviews on YouTube. In addition, local platforms Loot, Wantitall, Takealot, Zando and Superbalist offer space to third-party vendors for all kinds of products, services and sales.
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The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
