The future of online retail will depend on how the industry leverages technology to gain consumer loyalty.
Online retail should revolve around delivering on customer touch points that provide the most engaging and rewarding shopping experiences.
According to Beatrice Jonah, marketing consultant at ThoughtWorks, an increasing number of people in the southern Africa region are accessing the Internet through their mobile devices.
Because of the massive shift in the smartphone market and a growing middle class, online retailers must jump straight to new technologies that support new store formats, says Mark Collin, head of European Retail Practice at ThoughtWorks.
He adds retailers' systems should support mobile point of sale versus fixed tills; mobile-to-mobile digital payments versus cash; and single inventory models for online and offline versus multiples of systems for various channels.
Jonah believes in 2015 a greater number of retailers will offer more mobile-only deals. The use of mobile commerce, she says, will allow many retailers to make use of location-based marketing ? the use of mobile marketing to target mobile users within a certain geographic area.
With more people in SA connected to the Internet and on social networking sites, bridging the gap between online retail and social media is a natural progression, says Jonah. More retailers in 2015 will strategically try to convert their "likes and followers" into purchases. As a result, this will allow consumers to make purchases on their social media platform, she adds.
"We see a trend where retailers are trying to create a sustainable brand in the social media space by connecting with their end-consumers via useful social tools and apps."
To connect with their consumers, many retailers will have to embrace the slick combination of data and customer experience to join the pack of leading innovations in customer experience, says ThoughtWorks.
Jonah points out big data has been a buzzword for a few years, and is still relevant in 2015. This is because online retailers continue to need the data to analyse their customers' behaviour and shopping patterns, she says. "Retailers are going to be using big data to personalise and offer their customers a unique shopping experience."
"2015 will definitely be the year local online retailers will see more competition globally. As the cost of shipping and handling continue to decrease, and more international retailers offering free shipping to Africa, this will have a heavy impact on local e-commerce."
As a result, there will inevitably be more pressure on local retailers to improve their supply chain management and infrastructure within the continent.
Furthermore, privacy and security continues to be a cause for concern for retailers and consumers alike - more retailers are expected to provide better solutions, says Jonah.
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