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Cape Town - Retailers are grappling with re-inventing the wheel as online shopping continues to grow in popularity.
The key drivers behind its dramatic growth are linked to increased security and convenience.
Shopping online is safe, quick and efficient, an attractive offering for time stressed consumers.
With Wall St analysts predicting the slow demise of mega stores like Walmart and Target, retailers need to shape up or ship out.
Sensing a shift in purchasing patterns, Riaan Swart, founder and director of Solv, a Cape Town based IT concierge service, closed his IT retail chain business, Chaos Computers, when the global trend started to impact local retailers.
“Times are changing, especially in the technology landscape, where everything happens that much quicker," said Swart.
"It is all about convenience. Experience is no longer based on how something looks, it is directly linked to ease of use."
With time becoming a precious commodity, convenience will increasingly become king, he said.
“All services will eventually move towards going to the customer as opposed to the customer going to the service – apply Mr Delivery thinking,” said Swart.
Launched earlier this year, Solv provides a broad range of services to individual home users with simple technology needs, through to businesses and NGOs in need of IT services, data security and backup for up to 100 staff members.
Solv technicians or the Solv Squad, as they are known, are available to help individuals and small businesses with on and off site repairs, remote desktop support, data security and tech audits.
“In the fast-paced, high energy, technology must work world that we live in. time is crucial. It’s not always about the latest, greatest, most expensive technology, it’s about finding the right technology for our clients and ensuring that it works."
Staying ahead of the game in the competitive world of e-commerce will be the key driver for business success, Swart predicts.
“Businesses need to innovate and adapt or they will be left behind. We spotted an opportunity, ultimately however, it will be our ability to stay one step ahead of our competitors, that will determine our success.”
- Fin24
