麻豆原创 NEWSBYTE

Based in Hamburg, Germany, international fashion company, Bonprix, has over 16 million active customers in more than 25 countries. The company looked to 麻豆原创 for a simplified IT architecture, faster time to market in business decision making and a self-service enabled semantic layer in order to respond to market changes and ensure customers have access to the latest catwalk trends.听听

Supported by鈥槎乖� services, Beratungscontor and鈥痮ther partners, Bonprix implemented its analytics stack on鈥槎乖粹�疍atasphere鈥痑nd 麻豆原创鈥疊usiness Warehouse solution. This鈥痬arks a significant milestone in Bonprix鈥檚 data transformation journey. By deploying 麻豆原创 Datasphere as a cloud-based鈥痙ata platform鈥痶o 麻豆原创 BW4/HANA, Bonprix gains access to a鈥痯owerful鈥痑nalytical platform that鈥痓rings bridges data across finance,鈥痵ales,鈥痩ogistics and customer relationship鈥痬anagement鈥痓etween transactional 麻豆原创 data鈥痑nd end users.听

鈥淭he Bonprix 麻豆原创 BI data platform is adeptly designed for the future, leveraging the robust capabilities of 麻豆原创 BW/4HANA at its core to manage and efficiently process vast volumes of data,鈥� said Sergio Lopez Nunez, senior BI engineer, Bonprix. 鈥淲hen paired with 麻豆原创 Datasphere, which offers extensive multi-cloud access, it enables the seamless integration of data from diverse sources. In essence, the Bonprix BI data platform is not only a cornerstone in daily operations but also a strategic asset in the relentless pace of technological change, ensuring that Bonprix is well-equipped to continue promoting responsible trade that inspires, now and into the future.鈥�听

Having already implemented 麻豆原创 business AI solutions, specifically, the 麻豆原创 BTP GenAI Service “Document Information Extraction”, Bonprix has already experienced significant efficiency gains by automatically extracting relevant data from incoming invoices, reducing manual data entry errors, and accelerating the overall invoice processing workflow.听

鈥淎s one of Germany鈥檚 top online fashion shops, we are very excited to be a part of Bonprix鈥檚 digital transformation journey as they continue to make millions of customers happy,鈥� said Sven Mulder, managing director of 麻豆原创 Germany. 鈥淭he adoption of 麻豆原创 Datasphere and 麻豆原创 BW/4HANA marks the beginning of Bonprix鈥檚 successful cloud journey. They鈥檙e now empowered to make鈥痳eal-time, data-driven decisions, positioning the brand to expand into new markets鈥痺ith鈥痵tyle.鈥澨�听

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Shoprite鈥檚 online shopping platform and same-day delivery service helped lead the charge in a half-year that saw the company鈥檚 sales grow about R121 billion 鈥� a 13.9% year-on-year increase.

This is slightly down from the 17.5% half-year sales growth Shoprite reported for the same period last year.

Checkers and Checkers Hyper reported sales growth of 13.7%, Shoprite and Usave recorded a 13.1% increase, and LiquorShop sales increased by 25.2%.

鈥淪ustained high level of execution and continued customer momentum together with record Black Friday and festive season trade has extended the period of uninterrupted market share gains achieved by our core South African supermarket brands to 58 months,鈥� Shoprite stated.

听in November 2019, accumulated over 3.1 million downloads by March 2023, and expanded to 466 stores by September 2023.

As South Africa went into lockdown during the Covid鈥�19 pandemic, Sixty60 was available in selected Sandton, Johannesburg, and Cape Town locations.

However, it rapidly expanded as the success of its formula became evident.

Even as lockdowns ended, Sixty60 kept growing at an incredible pace.

The customer-facing app was developed by听, which launched one of South Africa鈥檚 first successful fast-moving consumer goods apps in 2016.

Shoprite also credits its success over the past five years to its rollout of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

鈥淲hen you walk into a Shoprite or Checkers supermarket and see a full range of products stocked, displayed, priced and with promotions clearly marked, that is what the ERP system does for us,鈥� Shoprite told MyBroadband.

Checkers also told MyBroadband last year that 麻豆原创 helped make Sixty60 successful.

鈥溌槎乖� Retail is the source of the stock ledger and real-time sales, which are essential for accurate fulfilment of customer orders,鈥� Shoprite stated.

鈥淭he ERP also provides promotional information, prices and article data to Sixty60, which ensures that the prices on Sixty60 are the same as the prices in-store.鈥�

However, it wasn鈥檛 always smooth sailing.

In 2019, Shoprite released a shocker of an earnings report, partly blaming delays in its 麻豆原创 rollout for causing a drop in earnings.

鈥淪upply constraints stemming from industrial action and the deployment of a new ERP IT system resulted in lost sales in the period,鈥� it said at the time.

However, it also assured investors in January 2019 that the upgrades had been completed and that its operations were already improving.

Spar is听, saying the project cost R1.6 billion in lost turnover.

This article first appeared on .

The post Checkers Sixty60 on Massive Winning Streak appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

According to Amrish Singh, Global Customer Experience Advisor at 麻豆原创 Africa, South Africans were traditionally used to physical purchases where they can see the quality of a product or the freshness of a loaf of bread 鈥� but that has changed dramatically.

鈥淭he past few years have seen massive growth in online purchases as consumers become more comfortable to enjoy the convenience of online purchases. Where South African e-commerce has traditionally lagged behind more developed markets, a new wave of digitally-mature companies are driving e-commerce, ably supported by a rich ecosystem of fulfilment partners, forward-thinking retailers and digitally-native consumers. However, this is putting significant pressure on retailers to ensure they offer great online customer experiences at all times.鈥�

Digital adoption driving digital maturity

, e-commerce purchases in South Africa grew by 66% in 2020 to reach more than R30-billion 鈥� double what it was two years prior. 鈥淒espite the relaxing of strict lockdown measures that restricted the movement of consumers to brick-and-mortar stores, online shopping continues to grow in popularity as more retailers introduce e-commerce offerings tailor-made for SA鈥檚 burgeoning consumer market.鈥�

Singh, who advises companies on improving their customer experiences and digital maturity, adds that companies seeking to introduce online offerings will first need to determine their level of maturity to understand what further development is needed to create compelling customer experiences.

鈥淒igital maturity refers to a company鈥檚 performance across hundreds of touch points in a typical digital customer journey, grouped in four main categories, namely Mobile, CX, Digital Marketing and Social Media,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淎s companies explore new revenue opportunities in the age of the always-connected consumer, keeping track of digital maturity will be essential to creating compelling customer experiences online.鈥�

To help companies in their efforts to develop seamless and effective online customer experiences, Singh provides tips for improving each of the four pillars of digital maturity:

Pillar 1: Mobile

In a country where听, having a mobile presence is essential to any company鈥檚 digital ambitions.

鈥淎 fast, responsive and user-friendly mobile app or mobile web responsive site is a must-have for companies as it creates a powerful channel for sales and customer service while also delivering vital information, such as where to find the nearest store,鈥� explains Singh.
More digitally mature companies will also integrate other services such as WhatsApp for customer support discussions or Google Maps so customers can navigate to the nearest store directly from their device of choice.
Singh adds that companies also need to build tailored functionality into their mobile apps based on the type of business. 鈥淔or example, if you are a pharmacy, does your app indicate whether there is an on-site clinic? If your business receives high volumes of customer queries, are your contact details hyperlinked so customers can reach you with a single tap?鈥�

Pillar 2: Overall Customer Experience

Customer Experience forms an important part of the Experience Economy and has become a core tenet of successful businesses, on par with traditional metrics such as product quality and price.

Some studies suggest that听, while听.

鈥淕reat online customer experiences are essential to the success of any company鈥檚 digital efforts,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淗ow well-designed and easy to navigate is your homepage? Can customers easily create an account profile? An easy win here is to use social logins so your customers don鈥檛 have to remember yet another set of usernames and passwords.鈥�

Guided selling, which employs the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to help customers find exactly what they are looking for 鈥� sometimes before they even know they鈥檙e looking for it 鈥� is also growing in popularity as the underlying technology improves.

鈥淗aving clear product images with detailed information, as well as ratings and customer reviews, further help create a compelling experience that can build trust with consumers and encourage repeat purchases. A seamless returns experience, especially for consumer goods and fashion items, is also vital, as any delay in replacing a defective product can damage the relationship with the customer and push them to your competitors.鈥�

Pillar 3: Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is an essential driver of modern commerce and has given rise to some of the world most valuable companies. In a survey of more than 14 000 online shoppers,听.

鈥淐ompanies have to make sure they rank highly for their relevant keywords on popular search engines such as Google,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淎spects such as which branded keywords they track for, strong calls to action, and ensuring that all ads direct to a live link 鈥� and not an unfortunate 404 page 鈥� are also vital.鈥�

Regulations such as the Protection of Personal Information Act and the European Union鈥檚 GDPR add a compliance element to customer communications.

鈥淭he ability for consumers to easily opt in and opt out of communication is both a customer experience and a regulatory requirement. Digitally mature organisations will also ensure there is a pleasant and relevant rollout of content to a newly opted-in customer to deepen their interest and start building a positive relationship with the customer.鈥�

Pillar 4: Social Media

With nearly听, social media has become a ubiquitous part of modern digital life.

Singh says modern brands simply cannot afford to not have a strong social media presence. 鈥淎t a minimum, companies should have systems and processes in place to regularly post content according to a well thought out social media policy, track engagement, and respond quickly and effectively to negative posts on their social pages.鈥�

For more digitally mature companies, social commerce could help drive valuable traffic and sales. 鈥淗ow easily are your customers directed from the social post to a product page with e-commerce capabilities? And how do you leverage content to build strong connections with a specific audience? For example, if you鈥檙e a hardware supplier, do you have a YouTube channel with tutorials for how to use certain tools or how to fix common household DIY problems? And do those videos direct to other products relevant to the tutorial?鈥�

According to Singh, companies should partner with experts that can lend a global perspective on best practices to accelerate their move to greater digital maturity.

鈥淥ur customer experience advisory team assesses more than four hundred touch points across the four pillars of digital maturity to give organisations a clear picture of their strengths and areas of improvement. This can eliminate wasted effort and more quickly push them to greater digital maturity, with all the customer satisfaction and revenue-boosting benefits that brings.”

The post How to Measure and Improve your Digital Maturity for Online Sales Success appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Cameron Beveridge, Regional Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淒ata from a recent survey of more than 1000 US consumers could hold vital insights for local retailers as they aim to salvage what has been an historically challenging year. The pandemic has done little to lower expectations around customer experience. Retailers must take heed of consumer needs and empower shoppers with choice听and convenience.鈥�

The recent survey of US consumers conducted by 麻豆原创 found that two-thirds of consumers will be shopping online this holiday season, with nearly a quarter (24%) of that shopping taking place via mobile.

鈥淣ew social distancing norms and the continued rise in popularity of online shopping services has forced retailers to prioritise digital experiences along with physical in-store experiences,鈥� says Beveridge. 鈥淐ustomers today want retailers to provide seamless, personalised omnichannel experiences that put their needs and expectations first.鈥�

To achieve this, Beveridge advises that retailers prioritise their efforts along three specific areas, namely:

1. Giving shoppers the freedom to control their own brand experiences

The rise of digital channels and self-service options have empowered consumers to take charge of their experiences with brands. In the US survey, 92% of shoppers said they want control over their experience when shopping or interacting with a brand.

鈥淐onsumers want choice, and won鈥檛 hesitate to switch a brand or provider if they aren鈥檛 satisfied with the experience. Retailers need to maintain open lines of communication with their customers to ensure they are up-to-date with their expectations, and can deliver the experiences they deserve.鈥�

2. A seamless blend of physical and digital

Online shopping boomed during the strictest parts of lockdown, and consumer appetite for online or mobile shopping has not abated.

鈥淩etailers, however, should not ignore the physical shopping experience in a country where less than 2% of all retail sales are online,鈥� says Beveridge. 鈥淚nstead, they should seek to blend digital and physical shopping experiences in innovative ways to attract and engage shoppers.鈥�

In one recent example, a leading South African retailer launched a听. The store combines a range of innovations 鈥� self-checkout booths, sampling vending machines, electronic shelf labels and price check booths 鈥� to create an enhanced customer experience.

3. An omnichannel approach to customer service

Retailers should first and foremost focus on removing frustrations or friction in the shopping experience. One in five US shoppers said their top requirement is helpful and prompt customer service.

鈥淲ith the growing popularity and adoption of automated customer service channels such as chatbots, consumers are increasingly comfortable interacting with non-human customer service options,鈥� says Beveridge. 鈥淭he key for consumers is to get an answer quickly. In fact, sixty percent of US shoppers listed speed as the most important factor of successful customer service interaction with brands.鈥�

The post What Consumers Expect from Holiday Shopping in 2020 appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.