The key to meeting SA consumers' demands

Johannesburg - With record-high mobile access, more South Africans are shopping online, and competition among e-commerce retail brands is fierce. To stand out, e-commerce sites need to keep up with the expectations of ‘value-hackers’ – shoppers who demand a seamless shopping experience that can deliver real value for money.

Unlocking the new customer mindset

The recently launched 2024 Mzansi Consumer Barometer by Kantar revealed that with South Africa’s e-commerce market continuing to grow, customers are demanding more from the retail brands they support. Consumers are placing higher demands on the brands in their ecosystems, seeking out value wherever they can!

Elaborating on this is Jason Sive, CEO of Mobicred and Digital Executive at RCS, who says that retailers need to shift their mindset from “isolation to consolidation,” by forming strategic partnerships with existing platforms and businesses, to offer collective value. “In a connected world, each customer has an ecosystem of brands that they support and interact with every day.

That ecosystem needs to fit seamlessly into their lives, providing them with frictionless touchpoints and customer experiences that they can switch between effortlessly. By collaborating with complementary brands, retailers can enhance their offerings, drive loyalty, and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive market.

The key to gaining an edge is therefore to create synergies that benefit both the businesses involved and the customers they serve, ensuring a more integrated and satisfying shopping experience,” Sive says.

Seamless online shopping experiences are essential

To attract the spend of South Africa’s growing community of value-hackers, brands need to combine efforts to alleviate customers’ mental load by predicting their needs and catering to those demands with value-filled offerings. Online users will rarely wait longer than 3 seconds for a webpage to load. Findings such as these point to the importance of utility – customers no longer want to compromise on their choices because of lack of time or money.

The answer is for brands to see their customers more holistically – to provide them with the choice and convenience with which they have become accustomed, complemented by frictionless experiences and value. However, as we enhance ease of use, it's crucial to recognize that seamless interactions can also open doors to potential security risks. The challenge lies in striking the right balance, ensuring that while customers enjoy streamlined, accessible services, they are also protected from fraud and other threats.

Frictionless shopping is all about providing consumers with a seamless, hassle-free experience, where every step of the purchasing process—from browsing to payment—is smooth and intuitive. In today’s fast-paced world, consumers expect convenience, speed, and security without the need to navigate complex or time-consuming procedures. To tap into this customer base, brands need to prioritise digital accessibility. Being ‘at the right place, at the right time, with the right offering’ is now critical to attracting clicks.

Aligning with this shift is one of RCS’ primary objectives and the main reason for its latest partnerships and online launches with brands such as Babies R Us, Baby City, Bash, Computicket, Dis-Chem, Leroy Merlin, NetFlorist, Toys R Us, and Travelstart. RCS account customers can now use their cards to shop at any of these brands online (and where relevant, in their stores). By adding to its already extensive retail network of over 30 000 stores, RCS shows its commitment to providing customers with greater accessibility and choice.

In addition, RCS has strategic partnerships with online credit facility, Mobicred and payment platforms: Zapper, wiCode, PayU, Payfast and Peach Payments enabling their customers to pay seamlessly in the way that suits their individual preferences.

For Jason Sive these latest additions to the RCS stable, underscore an ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive and accessible credit solutions. Given the demand from their customers to shop not only instore, but also online, RCS will continue to increase their retail footprint through the line, giving consumers more accessibility and choice to shop from on their RCS account.

“By partnering with the brands that South Africans already know and love, we’re not only expanding our reach but also enhancing the value proposition for our cardholders. It’s about creating a seamless and integrated shopping experience that aligns with the modern consumer’s expectations. As we continue to innovate and expand our offerings, our goal remains to empower our customers with the credit tools and flexibility they need to thrive in today’s fast-paced world,” he concludes.