Ask Andy Higgins anything about eCommerce

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Andy Higgins is one of South Africa’s most successful ecommerce entrepreneurs – he started Bidorbuy, helped to launch Takealot and PayFast, and is now making online shopping easier through uAfrica.

We are giving you an opportunity to ask Andy anything about eCommerce. He will the best questions to answer, and the top question will win an Amazon Fire 7 with Alexa.

There are some basic Ask Anything rules. A summary:

  • One question per post. If you have multiple questions, use multiple posts.
  • No personal attacks
  • No support questions (like “My Bidorbuy package …”)
  • No unsavoury questions
  • No trolling
  • No “Why don’t you answer my question?” posts
  • Keep it clean and civil, and ensure the discussion is constructive
Please post your questions in this thread. Andy will select and start to answer your questions at 12:00 on Wednesday 27 June.
 
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In South Africa many eCommerce players are launching online marketplaces, including but players like Takealot and Makro. Do you believe Bidorbuy will be able to show growth in this more competitive market?
 
What will it take for Takealot to become profitable? They have a dominant market position and excellent scale, but will it be possible to cut costs and maintain these advantages?
 
Morning Andy,

I'm curious, in starting something as big name as Bidorbuy and having had a hand in Takealot and Payfast, do you still have the same nerves when launching a new venture?
 
Courier services in general all follow the same recipe when it comes to rural/out lying areas, offloading to 3rd party entities that do their shipping on specific routes, 3rd parties generally don't have the same efficiency, work ethic and drive, I consider delivery in the South African market to be the weakest link, when it comes to e-commerce and often once it leaves the hands of online shops, what happens is beyond the control of these shops.This results in numerous delays and frustration for the consumer and this negatively impacts the online shops for things beyond it's control.

If given the opportunity how would address and improve the shipping, delivery and tracking systems currently in place.?
 
I get the feeling local banks are not too thrilled about online banking just yet, is my feeling right?
 
Innovation is key in eCommerce, how do you maintain this or introduce new ideas to keep existing ventures going?
 
Do you ever think Amazon would launch in SA? What do you think would happen to the existing players in the space if this were to happen?
 
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Given the current state of our logistics systems in South Africa and the fact that government are running out of money which, in my opinion, is going to lead to infrastructure issues further down the line, do you believe that shipping costs would decrease or increase and if so, would the larger companies like Makro Takelaot etc begin to start charging for delivery?
 
I can answer that for you. Find a courier company that will force the third party companies to deliver on time. We have recently changed from one company to another for this very reason. We had massive issues with third party claims and eventually had to make the move. At the end of the day a courier company is providing a service - if they dont deliver (excuse the pun) then terminate their contract :-) Admittedly in SA there are not many choices but shop around.
 
How long should a new ecomerce site expect to trade before a profit is shown?
 
Dear Andy,
When doing a SWOT analysis for this kind of business, what are the most important points to consider?
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
Thank You
 
To me, it seems like most eCommerce businesses are sabotaging their own efforts. The average conversion rate is 1.84%. For every $92 spent attracting customers, only $1 is spent converting them. 98% of visitors will never make a purchase! Are the websites mostly rubbish and/or untrustworthy? Is it online marketing that is poorly targeted and/or low quality? Do most businesses not impart their value proposition?

No doubt you think about this a lot Andy, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
 
Do you feel a sense of monopolization in the south african ecommerce industry with all the big players getting together and making collective decisions?
 
Hi Andy. What are your projections on growth of eCommerce in South Africa in terms of year on year and as a % of retail in SA?
 
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