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The rise of e-commerce on the African continent is changing the face of the local consumer, and brands need to adapt their business models and strategies in order to remain relevant amongst consumers and avoid a drop in market share.

African consumers are increasingly searching online platforms with commercial intent, which include querying prices of goods, and researching where products or services can be purchased. According to research by Google South Africa, there was an increase of 49% in query volumes in Nigeria, 37% in South Africa and 33% in Kenya, during 2014.

Hennie Heymans, managing director of DHL Express South Africa, says that with the rapid year on year growth of the e-commerce industry in South Africa, he has seen significant growth in volumes in the sector with popular products including books, electronics, computer software and fashion being shipped.

“Online shopping not only offers consumers access to a greater selection of products with easy to compare prices, but also allows individuals to purchase products that may not yet be available in South Africa. For local entrepreneurs, e-commerce enables them to access a global market, where before, they may have been restricted to sales within South Africa’s borders. With this this ‘new’ and evolving client base, businesses will now have to meet the demand of transporting products to individual clients, across the globe. This calls for agile supply chains to respond quickly and effectively to the increased demand.”

Heymans points to a recent retailing study conducted by Urban Studies on behalf of South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC), which revealed that Africa and the Middle East’s share of global e-commerce in 2015 is just 2%, but that it shows high potential. This is supported by a recent report by McKinsey & Company, which revealed e-commerce could account for 10% of retail sales in Africa’s largest economies by 2025.

Google also predicts that a massive e-commerce market will emerge in Africa by 2017 as the continent becomes more familiar with technological advances.

As e-commerce gains momentum across the continent, it once again highlights the potential for local retailers and entrepreneurs. A great success story is that of Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, who founded soleRebels, a footwear company in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2005. Within less than a decade, she has been able to grow her business from an organization of just five people, producing for her local market, to a global organisation of over 300 employees with eight stand-alone stores, serving over 50 countries. The key to her success in a fiercely competitive retail environment was a combination of traditional African artisan skills and technologies, innovative use of local (often recycled) materials, personal drive and energy, and a global vision.

“It is essential to identify a strategic partner to handle the logistics involved in an e-commerce cycle. Regardless of the size and nature of the business, logistics providers have the industry expertise and provide logistics services that best fulfill the changing needs of the consumer,” concludes Heymans.