The Advantage Group Report on Retail 2021

The Advantage Group, an international research body, has published its report on last year’s retail trade in SA. As part of this study, The Advantage Group asked respondents about their use of B2B ecommerce. While many retailers surveyed looked at “omni-retailing” (using all forms of sales/marketing to reach their customers), or at least had integrated on- and offline, there were concerns expressed by some that ecommerce was an expensive (and unprofitable) practice. Some managers were quoted to say that, while they recognised that they needed to offer online, they still found it not cost-efficient, mainly due to the delivery costs. The Advantage Group’s full report makes interesting reading and identifies issues our sector needs to address. It is available from Dylan Piatti ([email protected]).