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Gumtree to boost online presence

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 07 Apr 2014
Gumtree expects to grow another 28% this year, says Bart Molenda, head of marketing for the eBay Classifieds Group.
Gumtree expects to grow another 28% this year, says Bart Molenda, head of marketing for the eBay Classifieds Group.

Local online classified advertisement group Gumtree is kicking up its activity this year, as it faces increased competition from other sites, such as those owned by the listed Naspers, which has redefined its e-commerce offerings.

Gumtree is eBay's 2005 inroad into the South African market and 2014 will be the year it kicks up its marketing efforts and pursues "new up-and-coming markets", says Bart Molenda, head of marketing for the eBay Classifieds Group. Gumtree SA falls under this unit.

The Web site launched in 2000 and now has a presence in several countries. Molenda says it entered SA because it has always had its eye on emerging markets, and SA has an "electrifying" culture of entrepreneurship and ingenuity, which lends to the classifieds market.

Molenda says there are "several amazing projects, social media drives, PR and marketing campaigns and events in the pipeline", although he did not provide details. He adds Gumtree SA aims to "introduce several new tools to our user base that will improve their experience on the site.

"We've already seen phenomenal results through our dealership platform (with regards to automotive sales) and are currently working on improving our users' mobile and payment experience on the site."

Increasing competition

However, competition for the site, which claims to be SA's leading online classifieds provider, is increasing. One of Naspers' growth thrusts is to focus on classifieds, such as its OLX offering, which it has wholly-owned since 2011.

Molenda says the classified market in SA is ever-changing and an "exciting industry" in which to operate. He says Gumtree is ahead of its competitors in terms of market share and volume, which he ascribes to listening to users, and the technology behind the site.

"We are constantly working to improve the site and ensure that we are ahead of the curve in terms of technology. We are very conscious of our users' preference in terms of devices, payment methods and connectivity, and incorporate that into the site as far as possible."

Molenda says Gumtree SA has grown year-on-year - since launch in 2005 - at 28% and all indicators for 2014 show it will experience the same level of positive growth this year. He says the "uptake has been phenomenal", with close to 18% of the local population visiting the site and more than 600 000 live ads.

About 30 000 new advertisements are posted daily on Gumtree, which is around 20 a minute, Molenda adds. He explains Gumtree aims to cut down on fraudsters by conducting random ad screenings.

The portal also reviews posts that are flagged by its community as "suspicious", notes Molenda. Tips on how to trade safely are posted online, and Gumtree collaborates with numerous government and industry partners to share best practices, support investigations and help raise public awareness of online safety, he says.

Gumtree will also take down posts that infringe copyright, and offers a notice and takedown programme that enables rights owners to alert it to content they claim infringes their intellectual property rights, says Molenda.

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