Page 18 - Logistics News Sept / Oct 2018

Mobile Commerce

Cross border e-commerce continues
to provide signifi cant growth
opportunities for retailers and
manufacturers with an international
online product offering.

By Megan Roper, courtesy www.bizcommunity.com

#MobileCommerce:

Embrace international markets

A 2017 DHL report revealed cross-border retail Actively pursue international customers
volumes are predicted to increase at an annual If you’re embarking on an m-commerce strategy,
average rate of 25 percent between 2015 and I encourage you to actively pursue international
2020 – twice the pace of domestic e-commerce customers as evidence shows that they will
growth. This presents great opportunity for African spend signifi cantly more than local ones. There
businesses looking to take a piece of the pie. are free online tools available which will give
Mobile is a great enabler for commerce in Africa. you an indication of your international traffi c on
The increase in penetration rates means that more your website – this will give you an idea of which
customers are checking out and paying for orders countries to focus your eff orts on.
directly from their mobile phones. There is no risk in off ering your customer an
Mobile is a win-win for both the customer and express delivery option. Customers want choice,
the retailer. For the customer, it brings a new level of not only in their product selection, but also
convenience and they are now free to shop on the when and how they receive it. In our experience,
go. For the retailer, it allows for easy personalisation customers will be willing to pay a fair price for
of off ers and instant customer experience tactics. a faster, more effi cient service. Also, basket
values often increase with the introduction of
Open business to global trade international express shipping as customers tend
We have seen the emergence of a new trend – the to buy more to justify the premium shipping
accidental exporter. A manufacturer of bespoke costs.
menswear in South Africa, for example, is suddenly
receiving orders from a customer in Australia Boosting intra-Africa trade
who came across its Internet page. Overnight, the Intra-Africa trade is also something that shouldn’t
business went global. be ignored. Home to one of the fastest growing
Contrary to what many retailers think, cross- middle classes in the world, Africa is a captive
border shipping is simple and retailers in sub- market, with consumers looking for variety and
Saharan Africa are perfectly positioned to take easy access to goods. It’s also widely reported
advantage of international opportunities. ‘Brand that Africa is the fastest growing mobile market.
Africa’ is something that has increased exponentially There are a wide variety of off -the-shelf
in popularity in recent years, which provides great solutions (such as payment providers and
opportunity for businesses on the continent. It’s time programs that localise a website’s check-out
for retailers to remove the boundaries and open up experience for the visitor), helping retailers to
their business to seamless international trade. adapt their off ering to the digital world and to
In the m-commerce value chain, service delivery transact with customers in foreign markets.
is of utmost importance. More often than not, your Global logistics partners can provide
delivery partner is the only party with personal support in identifying the right trade-off
contact with your customer, so they’re essentially an between centralised and local warehousing
extension of your business. With no barriers to entry and fulfi lment, while fast, reliable and fl exible
in m-commerce, competition is fi erce, so you need delivery options can be an important tool in
to ensure that you take every opportunity to delight turning speculative interest into long-term
your customer at the end of the transaction stage – customer loyalty. Embrace the opportunity and
delivery. take your business global. •

16 September/October 2018 | Logistics News