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FEATURE eCOMMERCE
Adapting to the ‘new normal’ - eCommerce 101
eCommerce all over the world has been sighted as one of the fastest growing sectors, and in South Africa, this is also the case. With the dawn of a new Covid-19 world, with social distancing and working from home realities, eCommerce’s growth has seen a monumental shift.
N
o longer can any business afford to not have a digital selling component or customer interaction to their business. The hardware industry has
seen an update in the eCommerce space in the last few years, with a growing number of eCommerce platforms appearing from various franchise groups and suppliers/wholesalers. There has never been a better time to get onboard with eCommerce. DIY Trade News spoke with retailers and suppliers in the industry to hear their questions on eCommerce. Alichia Mentz, marketing and eCommerce manager at Agrinet, and Kevin Clark, managing director at Vaimo, answer them. Agrinet launched its first B2B eCommerce store back in 1995 but reinvented its offering after moving across to a world-class platform in 2018. The new platform, developed in partnership with Vaimo, won the Marketing Achievement Award for B2B Brand Excellence in 2019 which is awarded based on effectiveness, strategy and impact on the overall business.
discovery to delivery.
as strong a safeguard for your market as it once was.
Behind this buying process sits the real muscle of
This leads to the next point, expansion. With digital
eCommerce – the evolution of day-to-day business
expansion and reach into new markets is quicker and
Vaimo is one of the world’s most respected experts
processes, automation, integrations, logistics and the
not limited to the neighbourhood of your brick and
in digital commerce on the Magento and Adobe
pursuit of data quality (customer, product and order data).
mortar store or factory. Scaling online happens faster, which helps with product launches, promotions etc.
Commerce Cloud platform globally. Locally this team has been an integral part in some of the largest
Why does my brick and mortar business need to
eCommerce stores and also industry related stores
move online when it has been doing well up to now?
What are the advantages of e-commerce over my
for Agrinet, Leroy Merlin, BUCO and Chamberlains.
In short, futureproofing. Consumer’s behaviours are
brick and mortar store?
changing and many have already changed. In South
E-commerce allows for a shopping channel available to
What is e-commerce?
Africa consumers are becoming more and more
your consumers 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
eCommerce has quickly evolved over the past few years
comfortable with buying online, but we also know that
Your online store does not take vacations, call in sick or
to be much more than a single online channel or online
many consumers use eCommerce primarily to do
take family responsibility leave. It is a sales channel that
store. At Vaimo the preferred term is Digital Commerce
online research, compare products and prices from the
is always on, which if managed by Vaimo, is constantly on
over e-commerce. Similar to modern commerce solutions,
convenience of their own homes. This type of considered
and attracting more customers and by extension ROI.
digital commerce is not bound to a strict single channel
buying behaviour will be even more prevalent in the
Your eCommerce store is not limited to floor or shelf
environment but encompasses and brings together
current pandemic reality, where cash-strapped and
space, which allows you to sell comprehensive ranges,
multiple channels of customer interaction.
uncertain consumers will be hyper cautious about how
even if they are not in stock. This creates value to
they spend their hard-earned money.
end-users and is also a reason why mega platform like
Think about your daily life and how digital interactions, or what is also referred to as touchpoints,
In the US it is estimated that 12 000 retail stores will
Takealot do so well.
are now interwoven seamlessly into your routine at
close in 2020 due to consumer behaviour shifting to
home and at work, bringing instant satisfaction and
an eCommerce buying preference. Having an online
platform, with the same number of support staff, can
never-before-seen convenience. Digital commerce
presence and information readily available also boosts
exponentially increase your turnover, unlike a brick and
seeks to reach the consumer at as many of these
confidence in your brand.
mortar store, which needs to expand in terms of floor
touchpoints as possible (think social media, email,
The competitor field is changing, not only are direct
Scalability is much easier to do online. One
space, staff compliments, etc.
browsers etc) guide the consumer through a great
competitors moving online, indirect competitors are
customer journey, which will ultimately convert into
growing and eating market share such as gigantic
large range in a more user-friendly way for buyers. It is
sales. eCommerce seeks to own the user journey and
platforms such as Takealot, online-only retailers or niche
easier to find, compare and select product ranges with
create the best possible customer experience from
online stores. Geographical boundaries are also no longer
the powerful buying tools online.
JUNE 2020 DIY & INDUSTRIAL TRADE NEWS
Agrinet eCommerce has helped them showcase their
