Browsing: Future of retail in Africa

• Across Africa, mega-stores and wholesalers are increasingly selling directly to consumers.
• As a result, last-mile retailers find it difficult to remain relevant and competitive.
• However, digital tech systems such as the End-to-End (E2E) approach offer sales and growth solutions to these retailers caught between a rock and a hard place.

End-to-End (e2e) approach to doing business may be the only lifeline to save African retailers in this digital, mega-business age, as an increasing number of wholesalers deploy systems to reach out to customers directly. With a spirited push from wholesalers, many retailers have found themselves pushed to the margins of the production and consumption equation.

Across economies in the continent, big supermarkets are opening stores in towns and even neighborhoods, bringing closer to the final consumer a wide range of product options at much lower prices than the retailer next door.

Research shows that while in the beginning it was …

• Due to their small footprint, traders are located closer to consumers, along transport hubs and routes, or within local communities. 
• Proximity also extends to knowing and stocking customer’s preferred brands and products and offering credit to loyal customers.
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa indicates that small and local retail transactions account for 70 percent of total transactions in Kenya alone. 

Across East Africa, it is not uncommon to see dukas and kiosks around every other street corner offering some of life’s daily essentials such as sugar, soap, tissue paper as well as bread and milk. 

While they may not seem like much, East Africa’s dukas and kiosks are the backbone of the economy, providing jobs and basic essentials to millions of people.

According to EuroMonitor International, these spaces for trading can range from as little as 1sqm up to 30sqm. Due to their small footprint, traders are located closer …