With so much interest in China and India, it can be easy to overlook substantial changes in other markets primed for growth. South Africa looks to be one market that cannot be ignored. Internet retailers should take notice.
Wal-Mart’s acquisition of South African retailer Massmart has highlighted international attention to a burgeoning retail scene. Barclays, for example, reported that the African continent is attractive for UK brands, with over half of responding brands indicating South Africa as a top market.
A budding middle class in South Africa is fueling the retail growth. South Africa’s black middle class has more than doubled in 8 years according to a study reported in Business Day Live. This reflects a growing trend across the continent. Experts debate about what constitutes the middle class throughout Africa – estimated at 313 million in 2010 according to Business Day Live – but nearly all agree that a robust consumer audience is developing.
Online marketers should consider the market’s high potential for m-commerce innovation. South African consumers use mobile devices to regularly go online. They are increasingly adapting mobile smartphones to conduct transactions. World Wide Worx, in a report commissioned by Google South Africa, considered South Africa to have the highest mobile device penetration among African nations. As I noted in my earlier post How Coupons Can Influence Mobile, US mobile users are increasingly taking action through their phone. Reports like the Google Africa report confirm that such behavior is not only a global trend, but a norm.
Entry into the market can require the retailer to be patient. The World Wide Worx/Google report noted that mobile users can potentially take 5 years to be an active participant in the new economy. It means that consumer trends happening now have a delayed impact on return if a retailer chooses to investment in the South African market. Large retailers with considerable financial reserves can plan first mover advantage with a greater chance of success. The user adoption time frame may be an advantage to retailers looking to refine their applications and services for the market.
Thus retailers without such advantage will have to innovate with unique mobile strategy to establish a solid consumer audience. For example, in the US mobile activity can drive purchase through a PC. South African mobile usage, however, calls for enticements that can be used at a mobile device. Identifying simple tasks that can be conducted on mobile and partnering with local established firms can help. Adding analytics measurement will help manage the exposure a mobile site receives, but metrics should also support retailer attention to customer needs.
Metrics should also help refine user experience to better complete those tasks. Measuring conversion periodically would help. And retailers can start simple – initiating a mobile site first before an app can help refine the mobile message before introducing a new product.
There has been much written about mobile, and challenges with campaign measurement because of smartphone growth. Participating in a premier market such as South Africa can provide excellent opportunity to innovate on those challenges through mobile marketing.
