E-commerce trends to watch in 2008?

Yeehaaa - we've just received important news via express carrier pigeon that the legends from Yuppiechef.co.za [who, we're proud to say, we offer our marketing insight services too] have just won the "Best Home and Garden store' in this year's South African E-commerce awards, beating much larger category rival Kalahari and eDreams.

Shane and Andrew from Yuppiechef have been relentless in their quest for innovation with their portfolio of brands in 2007 and apart from this award, their growth this year has been staggering.
Frankly, no other South African entrepreneurs deserve it more. Their passion for unlocking the secrets of a world-class online brand is remarkable. Nice one.

But what are the South African e-commerce trends to watch out for in 2008?

According to a recently released World Wide Worx investigation - the big thing to watch is mobile commerce as the tipping point for mobile in South Africa (including m-commerce) is very near.
So would it be wise to set up a m-commerce store selling anything other than airtime next year? Well, it completely depends on your target market and what you're selling.

There is clearly a huge market with instant online mobile access 'ready and waiting', but we still believe that the most important asset in this category is still strong brand credibility. Focused, niche and specialised online South Africa brands are rare - and for us, hopefully the dominant trend as more entrepreneurs with flair enter the market next year.

See: The 2007 South African E-commerce Award winners
Read: The Tipping Point for Mobile is near - Biz-community
Best Home and Garden category winners - Yuppiechef.co.za
 

Comments

[Sally, designer]

Are you sure that mobile commerce is important for South Africa?
http://ecommerce-land.com/services.html

[Affiliate Promotion]

This is really interesting, thanks for posting it!