Retailers' online presence and functionality has served to boost sales in physical stores, as consumers increasingly use online channels to conduct research of products, interact with online representatives and otherwise browse through products online, before going to a physical store to make their purchases.

This is revealed in the fourth edition of the 'South African Digital Customer Experience Report', co-authored by digital marketing agency Rogerwilco CEO Charlie Stewart, online research platform ovatoyou founder Amanda Reekie and customer experience consultancy Julia Ahlfeldt CX Consulting founder Julia Ahlfeldt.

The report is based on responses from 2 000 South Africans. While the three authors offer the primary insights into the data, the report also contains considerations from 11 seasoned industry veterans including senior marketers from Meta, Woolworths, Zando, TFG, Luno and the V&A Waterfront.

Regarding online presence, the report defines online as every single interaction a brand can have with its customers, through a multitude of digital touchpoints. This includes social selling, marketplaces, search engines and reviews, besides others.

Social selling is a significant area, accounting for 10% of all e-commerce sales. As part of the new online journey, it is done through buying directly through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook Shops and WhatsApp, where these portals are as much online pathways to purchase as an e-commerce website is.

“What we need to acknowledge is that online is far more complex than we had realised and that selling can come from almost anywhere online,” says Ahlfeldt.

She says brands need to grasp that new channels of trade are on the rise and that even if purchases do not happen online, that is where many customer journeys start. “Brands may be missing valuable opportunities by limiting the channels that they trade through.”

As an example, the report finds that 48% of consumers buy products through Facebook and Instagram.

A significant insight revealed by the report is that online discovery and browsing morphs into a significant increase in offline sales.

In the past, brands may have dismissed a Google review that could have resulted in an in-store purchase, thereby making it currently imperative that they now take more seriously any online activity, such as browsing, researching, comparing and looking at reviews.

Woolworths, for instance, notes that over 60% of its online browsers claim to buy in-store, which has reinforced its focus to lead in omnichannel retail.

Stewart urges brands to reconsider their thinking, saying that it is dangerous to disregard other channels and transactions that contribute to the broader construct of online shopping. “These are no longer niche behaviours. Our research suggests that it is time to rethink, and broaden their definition of e-commerce in keeping up with the actual consumer behaviour.”

Notwithstanding the integration between online and offline, another key finding from this year’s study is the emergence of the consumer interaction with the Metaverse.

In this regard, 53% of respondents claim to have never heard of it, while a further 23% do not know what it is. Only 1% have actually bought something through the Metaverse. Fans call it the Metaverse Web 3.0, while sceptics label it a gimmick, the authors notes.

Regardless, 79% of surveyed consumers said they would engage with it in future, demonstrating an eagerness to do so.

Another key finding of the report is the importance placed on logistics, with those that can deliver the fastest and at the best price being held in higher regard by consumers.

But, the authors note that the financial reality of the matter is that on-demand delivery comes at a higher cost to companies.

“The reality is it is expensive to run a fleet of drivers, delivering smallish items or a box of goods; and even more expensive if the goods need to be recollected if they are not the right size.

“In this instance, some brands in the UK have even started charging consumers a fee for returns,” says Reekie.

She says brands are either having to charge for shipping or get consumers to cross a minimum payment threshold to be eligible for free shipping and, in so doing, risk the chance of cart abandonment as consumers are simply not willing to pay more for an item they could find in a physical store.

In this regard, 65% of respondents reported high shipping costs deterring them from checking out, up 14% year-on-year from the 51% who listed this as a barrier in 2021.

An upcoming event the authors say could disrupt the domestic e-commerce industry is the arrival of US-based online retail platform Amazon in South Africa in about February 2023.

“No brand, regardless of size or product, ‘owns’ the customer; conversely the customer is given a smorgasbord of shopping options, often comparing international sites or pages with local varieties.

“It is certainly a dog-eat-dog world, which is why local brands must up their ante to guarantee that they can confidently stand up against, or alongside, international applications, and offer a seamless customer experience that keeps up with the next best customer experience out there,” notes Ahlfeldt.

Despite these findings, the report reveals that unhappy or disgruntled consumers will tell others about their dissatisfaction, with 43% of respondents taking their grievances to social media and 50% telling family and friends.

“This puts huge pressure on brands. Given switching is so easy, brands need to retain their customers’ happiness and put in place guardrails to prevent issues from occurring as far as possible,” says Reekie.