Mattresses and beds are some of the biggest online sellers in SA.
This is according to representatives from some of the top South African e-commerce sites, during a panel discussion at the South African eCommerce Conference in Sandton yesterday.
Bidorbuy CEO Jaco Jonker and Daniel Guasco, CEO of Groupon SA, also acknowledged that consumer electronics, jewellery and travel offers were popular among local consumers.
For Liz Hillock, head of marketing at Kalahari.com, knowing this kind of information about the market allows online retailers to better offer their customers what they want. In line with this, she called on retailers to engage with their customers should they want to improve their products and overall customer experience. "If in doubt, ask your customers," said Hillock.
Guasco agrees: "If the offers you are putting out there are of no value to your consumers, it will drive disengagement."
Successful e-commerce is not just about the size of the budget; it depends on where the company is in its life cycle, and how the brand aims to establish itself in the market, said Hillock. "When looking at an omni-channel marketing strategy, if you have a limited budget, you really need to get the basics right."
Marketing and mobility
For the past five or six years, the best-selling book on Kalahari.com over the festive season was written by a local author, said Hillock, noting that this illustrates the importance of localisation. "We market our localness," she said. "Finding your key differentiator and marketing that is important in e-commerce and has proven a successful strategy for Kalahari thus far."
The panellists agreed that big players in the online space should focus on online marketing, rather than mediums like print, TV or radio. According to Jonker, an online marketing strategy allows the retailer to better register how the public is reacting to a brand or campaign.
"Online also allows the retailer to change things that are not working," Jonker said. Similarly, the panellists agreed that social media is a good branding tool, but may not be the best marketing method for businesses looking to convert interest into sales.
Further, the mobile trend means that online retailers are increasingly looking at developing mobi sites and apps, said Jonker, cautioning that poor mobile execution can be as detrimental as not having a mobile platform at all.
"Creating good sites and apps provides a different avenue to build trust with your customers from an e-commerce perspective," he said, admitting that while a brand's app or mobi site need not offer all the functionality of the Web site, it should have enough for people to get what they need, when they want it.
"Giving people poorly designed mobile platforms is like giving the customer half a product," Jonker concluded.
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