Tag: shopping experience

The South African retail landscape faces a range of challenges, including high unemployment, severe inflation, shrinkflation and the lingering effects of COVID-19. These pressures have reshaped consumer expectations and added layers of complexity to their shopping decisions.

Does anyone remember when banks and insurance companies lamented that customer information couldn’t be leveraged effectively? This was because it was locked up in silos. Surprisingly, you don’t need a long memory - this was only about 12 months ago. And it remains a major issue for large organisations. Many still struggle to integrate disparate divisions dealing with the same customers, but separately.

The pivotal role of digital accessibility for goods and services has become abundantly clear over the past few years. The global economy, now more than ever, relies on the seamless flow of transactions across borders. Whether it involves individuals, businesses, or financial institutions spanning different countries, the realm of cross-border payments has taken center stage in our interconnected world.

Three iconic apples have profoundly shaped human behaviour over the centuries. It began with Eve's fateful bite, symbolising our innate temptation for social status. Then came Newton's apple, revealing the gravitational forces that exist between objects and people. Finally, there was Steve Jobs' Apple, putting a powerful handheld window to the world in our palms - allowing us to seamlessly connect, purchase, and share our lifestyles like never before.

In the wake of the rapidly evolving digital landscape, retailers are continuously confronted with a myriad of software solutions. Implementing these systems often requires a considerable investment of resources, frequently resulting in a patchwork of fragmented systems and siloed operations.

Given the multi-faceted nature of the Metaverse, the disputes that could arise are limitless. It is therefore important that dispute resolution mechanisms that will be used in dealing with Metaverse-related disputes are agile enough to account for a new legal environment.

Consumers in South Africa are under immense pressure with a cascade of bad news resulting in increased prices at the till. Producer Price Inflation continues to rise, with the latest figures showing an increase from August’s 4.3% to 5.1% in September: things are going to keep becoming more expensive following higher fuel prices, a high lending rate to try to keep inflation in check and a weak, volatile Rand. Despite this, retailers have to sell goods and consumers need to buy goods.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the global economy and offer an untapped opportunity for Communications Service Providers (CSPs). As they emerge from the pandemic, SMEs have been spending more across a range of technologies, with spending on IT and digital services set to increase by 7.6% CAGR to reach $1.7 trillion by 2026.

Online product research and discovery influences R293.8 billion in physical sales, accounting for 25% of South Africa’s retail trade, according to the recently released 2022 South African Digital Customer Experience (CX) Report.

As Samsung, we have over the years realised that immersive experiences is paramount if retailers want to attract new customers, increase footfall, maximise sales and operations and build long-term loyalty in this new digital world. We believe that our Samsung Display Solutions play a crucial role in winning in this new digital, retail environment.