E-commerce is gaining traction in South Africa. In the past nine years, e-commerce transactions have increased by 30% to 35%, with the emerging middle class leading the trend.

By Stanley Anderson

What should businesses then be doing to meet the needs of these mobile and Internet-savvy consumers, and how will supply chain management solutions evolve with consumers’ changing shopping habits?

While there may be plans in the pipeline to invest in an e-commerce platform for businesses and to allow private individuals to purchase vehicles online, complete reliance on e-commerce remains a future goal for now.

This sentiment is reflected in a recent Effective Measure Study, which found 49.37% of Internet users said that one of the key reasons they did not purchase a product online was because they preferred to touch and feel it before purchasing. Substantiating this outlook, while global online retail makes up 10% to 12% of total retail, it only makes up 1% of the total market for consumer goods in South Africa.

Consumers like to browse and compare prices online, and we can see this in the savviness of customers who walk into dealerships; however, there will always be a very emotional connection that arises when a person purchases a vehicle. Most people come to a dealership for the experience, instead of making a selection online. Yet, you cannot ignore the fact that many consumers still base their purchasing decisions on what they have found online.

To meet this expectation, many vehicle OEMs allow customers to ‘build’ their vehicle online, with filters such as type, derivative, colour, and accessories. For now, though, this is merely a way for a consumer to decide what he or she wants in the vehicle, with the final decision still predominately made at the dealership.

There is no doubt that the large access to digital devices in South Africa and the affluent nature of the emerging middle class will be indicative of the demand to move all things digital – where online shopping will be no different. However, the time it will take to reach full adoption, we believe, is some time away, but, in the interim, brands must ensure that their websites are optimised for web browsers and mobile devices as a first point of call.

The author: Stanley Anderson is the marketing director for Hyundai South Africa