In 2016, global eCommerce sales are expected to reach just shy of $2 trillion; Africa represents only about 2% of this. What is driving the eCommerce environment in Africa however, is the continuing rise of mobile connectivity and the rapid development of FinTech products. Just over 80% of African adults do not have access to traditional banking, yet the continent boasts more than 220 million registered mobile money accounts. Tapping into this increasingly connected and tech-savvy market is the focal point for all eCommerce vendors.

From our findings at the 2nd eCommerce Africa Confex in February 2016 it was clear that the next step in our evolution would be to include a FinTech/mobile payments focus. Out of hours of discussion with numerous industry leaders, the eCommerce Africa Confex 2017, powered by Kinetic, will now incorporate Money Africa.

The rise of telecom-driven financial services has left many banks and financial institutions chasing the market. FinTech products are creating a cashless society, facilitating borderless transactions, and encouraging frictionless peer-to-peer financing.

In East Africa alone, over $3 million worth of transactions are expected to take place through FinTech platforms every hour, every day. The future of financial services and payments is geared towards customer service, driving loyalty, creating new revenue streams and services, and banking the informal trading sector.

Money Africa 2017 will examine how your existing business should align itself with this junction of mobile, retail and financial services, marketing capabilities, customer data and peripheral technology.

The eCommerce conference sessions will examine various aspects of development in the industry: how online and mobile retailers are capitalising on growth opportunities; how omni-channel retailers are moving into a digital space; where the consumer is driving their own experience; the realities and challenges of cross-border expansion; and overcoming fulfilment concerns and driving logistics in the real world. 

The Annual eCommerce Africa Confex, powered by Kinetic for a 3rd year, will again take place at the CTICC on 22-23 February 2017. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.ecommerce-africa.com  

CashBag, the cash back rewards program for online shopping, recently underwent a tune up. The site in addition to having a new look, now boasts more cash saving deals, more offers from local and international partners and more cash back in the consumers pocket.

In July, CashBag launched its CashBag Cash Back Button - A toolbar button that simplifies the process of activating rewards when shopping online. The plugin notifies the shopper each time they visit a CashBag partner website and shows them how much they can save by activating the reward. The CashBag Button also allows shoppers to compare cash back deals right on their Google search results page.

Signing up to CashBag is free and opens up a world of money-saving potential. Every time a shopper makes an online purchase through CashBag, CashBag pays a portion of the checkout total back to the consumer in cash.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as possible to earn money while you shop online, as well as ensure that consumers don’t miss out on any cash back rewards. The CashBag Button notifies you that a cash back reward is available at that particular site, they click on “activate” and continue shopping. It’s that simple, no forms to fill out or points to accumulate,” states CashBag GM, Kirsty Henderson.

The company launched in 2012 with the purpose of offering cash back to it’s members for shopping online; the more they shopped the more they’d earn. While the goal hasn’t changed, the consumer has as well as the playing field. Although reward programs are not a particularly new phenomenon they are becoming increasingly popular. According to The 2016 Truth Loyalty Whitepaper there are over 100 loyalty programs in South Africa with accelerated activity in the last 3-5 years.

Banks, insurance providers and many large retailers offer a variety of loyalty and rewards programs; cash back rewards, points, incentives, coupons and discounts. CashBag is not encouraging consumers to add to their daily activities in order to accumulate points etc. but merely continue doing what they already do i.e. shop online. In a recent report by Word Wide Worx, online retail is around 1% of overall retail in 2016, equating to roughly R9 billion which is up from R7,5 billion from last year. Consumers are shopping online, eCommerce in South Africa is maintaining it’s high growth rate year on year. CashBag is simply stating - keep on shopping and get rewarded for it.

CashBag rewards can be bundled together with other online loyalty and reward programs accumulating to considerable earning potential for the consumer. The Brandmapp Survey 2015 states, economically active South African consumers currently belong to an average of 4.6 loyalty programs meaning, CashBag members are able to earn cash back, loyalty points and discounts in one purchase from the various programs that they belong to. Every quarter consumers are then paid their cash back accumulated in their CashBag account.

CashBag offers cash back on everything from travel and accommodation both locally and abroad to fashion, homeware, gadgets and health and beauty. Boasting over 100 online offers and rewards of up to 30% cash back, savvy shoppers are able to earn cash back on just about any purchase they make online.

The official online retailer for OLAPLEX No.3 Hair Perfector, Hairhouse Warehouse (HHWH), has cut down the price of the wonder treatment to R399. Now consumers all over South Africa can simply order the 100ml at-home treatment online and have it delivered straight to their front door. OLAPLEX No.3 is capable of treating mildly damaged hair in lieu of a full salon treatment.

No.3 offers you access to OLAPLEX’s revolutionary technology right in the comfort of your home and at an affordable cost. An astonishing 453,000 No.3 treatments were done in South African homes in the last 6 months. The No.3 treatment helps maintain strong and healthy hair in between salon services; as it continues to crosslink broken hair bonds. If you have healthy hair it is recommended to use No.3 once a week and 2-3 times a week if your hair is damaged.

Simply, apply No.3 to clean, towel-dried hair. For best results: if you have any build-up such as oils or silicones in your hair then, first shampoo and towel dry your hair before applying No.3. Apply a generous amount, to your towel-dried hair and comb through, you can leave the treatment in your hair for 10 to 30 minutes.

Remember, although leaving it on for longer will have no damaging effect, it is unlikely that there will be more benefit after 30 minutes, especially if the product dries out. Then rinse, shampoo and condition. You need to use a salon-quality conditioner and moisturiser each time you wash your hair because No.3 is NOT a moisturiser or conditioner.

Some people sleep with No.3 in their hair overnight, although this is fine from a product perspective, it is not the recommended procedure. Sleeping with No.3 is a concern in case some gets into your eyes, nose or mouth whilst you sleep. One would probably benefit more by doing another treatment after a few days instead of once a week as recommended.

You can also add No.3 to your daily haircare routine, using it as often as you like before going for the in-salon treatment of OLAPLEX No.1 Bond Multiplier and No.2 Bond Perfector. No.1 is added to the chemical mix (bleach, lightener, hair colour etc.) and applied to the hair. It penetrates the hairs and rebuilds bonds as they are broken by the chemical service. OLAPLEX No.2 is used after a salon process to crosslink any broken bonds leftover from previous chemical services hair underwent, this allows the product to have double the effect in repairing damaged hair.

Shop for No.3 online on HHWH 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Plus, free delivery (T&C’s apply) within South Africa. Don’t forget you can still purchase No.3 offline at an OLAPLEX affiliated salon near you. Join the beauty conversation on Facebook: Hairhouse Warehouse Twitter: @HHWH_SA Instagram: @hhwh_sa and other social platforms.

Media Enquiries:

Hairhouse Warehouse

Name: Lars Fischer
Title: Managing Director

Mobile: (086) 010-4411 / (011) 608-4191
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

With growth come responsibility Who is responsible for your online security? Who's responsibility is it that you stay on the right side of the law at all times? Yes... you are! The latest e-commerce stats from Statista.com show that 40% of worldwide internet users have bought products or goods online via desktop, mobile, tablet or other online devices. This amounts to more than 1 billion online buyers and should continue grow steadily.

This shows us the tremendous growth of eCommerce. With this positive growth comes negatives as well, online scams are increasing, payment fraud is on the uptake, consumers are abusing the CPA when it comes to refunds, returns etc. Protection of personal information is becoming more and more important, information is being stolen and social media is full of schemes and fraudsters.

Thus... The eCommerce Law & Security Conference was born! By attending this conference on 3 & 4 June 2015 delegates will learn from experts how to avoid and prevent all of the above mentioned from affecting you and your company. Speakers will share their knowledge and expertise on industry topics to ensure you leave the conference with an updated wealth of knowledge and strategy on how to implement all of this including the POPI Act in your organisation. More information click here...

Expert speakers include: Robby Coelho - Webber Wentzel Andrew Kirkland - Trustwave SA Rosalind Lake - Norton Rose Fulbright Ashleigh van Kerckhoven - KPMG Rosalind Davey & Khomotso Makapane - Bowman Gilfillan  

Early Bird Registrations Open Register 2 delegates for ONLY R4798. Normal registration fee for the full 2 day conference is R3199 per delegate. Included in the registration fee: *Full access to the conference, panel discussion and workshop *Sit-down buffet lunch both days *Free Parking *3 Refreshment breaks per day *Digital copies of each presentation *Networking Opportunities with speakers and delegates *2 days full of informative up-to-date presentations   Register NOW!    

Exclusive Workshop Attendees will have the benefit of attending a workshop on 4 June inclusive in the conference package. Understanding & Managing the Risks of Social Media presented by Rosalind Davey and Khomotso Makapane from one of SA's top law firms Bowman Gilfillan. Read more

A new online art and craft marketplace launched in January 2015, allowing South Africans to sell their art and handmade goods online. The Craft Shoppe is a virtual craft market, offering sellers their own store within the main webstore, and the opportunity to sell their work to both South African and international online markets.

The website is free to join, and members can list as many items as they wish. Sellers can log in to their own private dashboard to list and track products. They can offer discounts and coupons, apply shipping fees per product or offer free shipping for certain orders. The website tracks all orders and sales, and credits members' accounts with the proceeds of their sales less 15%. The Craft Shoppe has provided a step-by-step Seller Guide to help new sellers get started and make the most of all of the features that the website offers. Further, their Support Forum gives members a direct link for answers to questions.

The website was created by Erica Keegan of Johannesburg, South Africa, who, like many South Africans, was inspired by successful US based craft webstore, Etsy, but frustrated by the limitations of having to use Paypal as payment processor. The Craft Shoppe offers a South African alternative to Etsy. Members list their items in Rands, and get paid out Rands directly into their South African bank accounts. All the seller has to do is ship their work in good time and good order.

The Craft Shoppe can be viewed at www.thecraftshoppe.co.za, with all enquiries being directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Written by Erica Keegan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +27818365416

SOUTH AFRICA – Jan, 2015 – After much anticipation LiveBids Auctions has been launched in South Africa. LiveBids offers a unique online buying and selling platform that incorporates different aspects of various social media.

This means that a choice of interests, following friend’s, search hundreds of products while buying items for a fraction of the cost and selling them to make real profits.

LiveBids aims to help buyers and sellers fully connect in trade with seamless transactions. It is an online marketplace that is simple, interactive and social. It allows users to experience a real-time marketplace, buy products lower than the market value and socially follow buyers and sellers.

Two formats are used, namely online auctions and pay-per-bid. The first of these is the traditional online auction model, where items are sold to the highest bidder. The second is a pay-per-bid model, where would-be buyers purchase credits to bid on items. These credits go to the seller, which is how it is possible to purchase big-ticket items for nominal amounts.

The founders of LiveBids, Rory Vollmer and Paul Hoft, explain that “the idea was to create an online marketplace that was simple, interactive and social, helping buyers and sellers connect and trade. The marketplace is completely people driven”.

Visit www.livebids.co.za to empower yourself by becoming an online buyer and seller today!

For further information regarding LiveBids Auctions, or to schedule an interview, please contact: 

Contact Rory Vollmer,

Co-Founder and Head of Marketing

Phone: +27 (0) 21 300 8446
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.livebids.co.za

Cape Town based StateoftheART, an innovator in the online art world, has been showcasing and selling affordable contemporary art by emerging artists since 2010. This month they launched their new website to support the keen interest in South African art, bringing their works to a global  audience with easy access via the web.

The recent boom in the online art trade, currently valued at around R28bn is forecast to more than double by 2018. At least 71% of art collectors have now purchased artwork online according to the 2014 Hiscox Online Trade Report , with that number expected to rise. StateoftheART founder Jennifer Reynolds says "We want to offer our visitors the personal touch and intimacy of a gallery setting, without the limited selection associated with a physical space. More than half of our customers use a mobile device to browse our online art gallery, perhaps because there is something particularly satisfying about viewing art on a tablet as the tactile experience of holding the device feels almost the same as picking up a painting to look at it more closely."

The great advantage of StateoftheART is that it affords visitors to the site the opportunity to discover and buy affordable fine art that would not otherwise be easily found.  The slick and easy to use website allows visitors to browse and buy high quality art in the comfort of their own home, making contemporary art even more accessible. Works can be bought directly from the website and delivered anywhere in the world. The site offers a 7 day money-back guarantee. To discover the world of StateoftheART, please visit www.stateoftheart-gallery.com

About

StateoftheART is South Africa's premier online gallery where you will discover an exclusive selection of carefully curated art by top emerging artists. Our virtual platform is complemented by the brick-and-mortar StateoftheART gallery in Cape Town; an intimate space in which we regularly host exhibitions and where art lovers can view a dynamic selection of works by our represented artists.

For images, information and interviews with Jennifer Reynolds, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Foscam would like to issue a warning as we go into the silly season.

Christmas is such a magical time of year... lots to be thankful for and wonderful parties to attend. Some of us are lucky enough to get away for a change of scenery. Those of us who stay at home may tend to have a more relaxed outlook on life. But please, beware, criminals are most likely to strike when given half the opportunity, when your guard is down or even better, when a home is empty.

Foscam, leaders in surveillance cameras supply households and companies alike with security cameras that send live footage directly to your cellphone or web browser.

Foscam IP cameras, or in lamans terms, ‘internet cameras’, simply require a wifi signal that they can pick up on where they are installed (either ADSL or by means of 3G), and a standard electric point. Once the camera is configured, download an app to your smartphone and no matter where you are in the world, you will be able to login and monitor your most prized assets.

So if you are going on holiday this December, or simply want to beef up your security, why not take a look at our website, www.foscam.co.za where you can purchase your security cameras online. We deliver countrywide and sell a wide range of indoor and outdoor security cameras to suit your needs.

Foscam South Africa
Tel: 011 4695165
www.foscam.co.za

iconnix (Pty) Ltd. a South African based software development company, recently celebrated 18 years in the logistics industry – an outstanding achievement in this extremely competitive environment. Backed by a highly experienced and dedicated development and management team, iconnix (Pty) Ltd. has developed over 100 systems worldwide in the sectors of transport, banking, telecommunications , vault management , call centre and travel.

iconnix International’s flagship systems, WinFreight and Warehouse-IT, effectively streamline business processes. WinFreight, a freight management system, was designed to manage all operations within freight, courier or distribution companies. Whereas, Warehouse-IT, a warehousing and stock control system, controls all operations relating to stock control and asset management within the supply chain.

Director Mike Shraga had this to share, “We have recently instituted a unique online version of these systems to provide our clients with cost effective portability. Any company with multiple depots can use these systems with only one server, and can access information about their operations from anywhere, at any time.”

Visit the WinFreight stand at the eCommerce Africa Confex and have a chat with their team of experts to learn more about the freight management system. They will be joined on the expo floor by logistics experts CourierIT and digital marketers, Vizury. Premier sponsors Amazon Web Services and PayPal with FNB will both be showcasing their solutions in the tech demo area.

The eCommerce Africa Confex will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on the 3rd-4th February 2015. Should you wish to register as a delegate or want to know more about sponsor and exhibitor opportunities then contact Gregory on 021 180 4700 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Site: www.ecommerce-africa.com/index.php/pages/news

Right Click Online Marketing Pvt Ltd, one of the largest aggregators of online coupons and deals in the world, announced the launch of it's voucher site in South Africa with the domain name www.vouchercodes.za.com. 

RcM (Right Click Media) is an online venture of highly qualified digital marketers with a combined experience of 60 years in online shopping, having presence around the world with sites having TLD names (Top Level Domain) in 12 countries in APAC, Middle East, Europe, and now Africa. It is head quarteded in New Delhi, with support center located in Dehradun, India. To know more, visit www.rightclick.media.

Vouchercodes.za.com is a deal/discount codes website displaying latest coupons and deals from all top online shopping sites in South Africa across various categories. Over the years, online coupon and voucher sites have played a significant role in increasing the penetration of online transactions in countries such as UK, USA and China. Some of these sites are valued at a staggering USD 1 bn! With the launch of Vouchercodes.za.com in South Africa, the benefit of shopping online with the help of coupons is now going to be available to the users here, and will possibly be instrumental in becoming growth catalyst for the industry. To take benefit of discounts, user will need to visit Vouchercodes.za.com from their desktop or mobile browser, search for coupons from their favorite online shopping portal, and use the most lucrative one they find here. on the shopping site.