South Africa's most visited website, AfriCam, is reaping the rewards of e-commerce courtesy of America's fascination with the African bush safari and online auction technology developed by local Application Service Provider (ASP), SalesBid.
AfriCam's auction system was launched late in November and in just three weeks has received over 15 000 visitors, mostly from the US. The African art up for auction on the website has attracted more than 500 registrations, with the more popular works receiving well over 20 bids each.
David Bloch, CEO of SalesBid - an ASP which specialises in the development and implementation of dynamic pricing solutions - says that online auctions are well suited to art and collectibles where product is relatively scarce. "With demand exceeding supply, one is able to get a bidding war going for the product and attain the best possible price.
"AfriCam is an extremely popular website which records up to 38.8 million page impressions a month mostly from an international audience. Funds generated from the auctions will go towards sustaining and growing the site's product offering - currently 17 live wilderness cameras bring websurfers updated images from the bush every 30 seconds.
Bloch says, "While African art is the only product currently being auctioned on the site, AfriCam is looking into expanding this offering to include tour packages to game parks and other related products."
AfriCam, which in June was named the most visited SA Website by the Audit Bureau of Internet Standards (Abis) with its quarterly average of 35 million page impressions per month, recently launched a number of e-commerce initiatives in a bid to take advantage of its popularity, including the sale of African music and merchandise.
Its decision to partner with SalesBid was fueled by the dynamic commerce specialist's success in powering auctions for leading brands and portals including; iafrica.com, ITWeb, Protea Hotels, Hertz Rent a Car and others.
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SalesBid
SalesBid is an Application Service Provider specialising in the development and implementation of simple and affordable dynamic pricing solutions to businesses. SalesBid's cutting edge technology allows an auction solution or other dynamic pricing component to be quickly and easily added to companies' websites. SalesBid's online solutions are unique in that they allow companies to run dynamic pricing solutions from their own sites, thereby maintaining their business's corporate image and brand and increasing traffic to their site, while still being deployed, managed and maintained by SalesBid. Furthermore, SalesBid's superior syndication technology facilitates the items on auction to be simultaneously published on major portal and specialist sites, which exposes the participating companies' goods and services to a large and targeted online audience resulting in increased sales.
SalesBid is an independent subsidiary of Auction Alliance Holdings with stakes also held by management and African Harvest Capital.
AfriCam
AfriCam is the largest content site in Africa, recording over 35 million page impressions per month with traffic increasing consistently (QTR monthly average as audited by PWC). As the world's first live wildlife internet broadcaster, the site provides viewers globally, 24 hours a day with live images from 17 webcams situated within 10 African game reserves, 1 webcam in the Indian Ocean and one in Manatoba Canada focusing on polar bears (operates seasonally in October and November while the ice is forming). The site has a global audience with over 50% of viewers being North American. Numerous world firsts have been accomplished by the site such as the launching of the first live webcam on an African waterhole, the first underwater remote webcam as well as the first virtual game drive webcam. Africam has also been the first website ever to transmit live sounds from the African bush, shown live footage of a lion kill, python kill and zebra birth, and to feature sharks live in their natural environment. The webcams currently offer refreshed images every 30 seconds. A ground breaking broadband streaming initiative will launch early in 2001 offering a live streaming video experience of the African bush over the internet. In December 2000 AfriCam Radio was launched offering an audio element to game viewing, wildlife and conservation issues.
Initiated by entrepreneurs, Graham Wallington and Paul Clifford in September 1998, investors include JSE-listed Peregrine Holdings, African Harvest and Real Africa Durolink. The company is headed by CEO Peter Armitage, while the live television entity of the business is driven by former Newsforce CEO Pete Henderson and former eTV station manager Richard van Wyk.
AfriCam is unique in that it has managed to create an international business from a South African base, highlighting how the internet is changing economic models worldwide.