While marketing and sales can scale rapidly, fulfilment infrastructure expands more gradually. Eventually, the warehouse becomes the constraint that determines how much growth the organisation can sustain.

Demand generation was once seen as the main barrier to ecommerce growth. Now, it is the operational challenge of fulfilling that demand efficiently and profitably that is holding retailers back.

Global postal code models are a non-starter for the local informal economy, says geospatial information company AfriGIS.

The next phase of ecommerce growth is being shaped as much by logistics as by technology.

South Africa is about to undergo a fundamental two-wheeler mobility transition.

Location data is leading to dozens of massive store closures and groups of people running the risk of being excluded from ecommerce.

South Africa’s ecommerce market is on track to surpass R100bn by 2026, edging closer to 10% of total retail sales.

Africa is experiencing a surge in intra-continental ecommerce, spurred by mobile-first consumers, fintech innovations, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Driven by the relentless growth of ecommerce and the prospect of the endless aisle, companies are investing heavily in omnichannel fulfillment, advanced stock management systems, and warehouse automation.

Return fraud is one of the fastest-growing challenges facing ecommerce retailers today. From wardrobing and item switching to false item not received claims, abuse of return and refund policies quietly eats into margins.