Last year, global retail e-commerce hit $4.28 trillion, up almost 15% from the previous year.
With over two billion people purchasing products online, consumer behaviour and expectations have changed and coordinating how they get those products has to evolve.
Some takeaways:
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The value of sales from global e-commerce businesses is projected to hit $7.4 billion in the next three years. That's an almost 7-fold growth from the $1.3 billion sales value recorded in 2014.
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Some of this growth can be attributed to the growing investment in last-mile delivery, the final, most costly and difficult leg of e-commerce sales.
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Across Sub-Saharan Africa, infrastructure challenges and the remoteness of many communities means that delivering goods and services directly to people comes with enormous challenges. However, most of the investments in last-mile solutions have primarily gone to North American and Asian companies. Some of the reasons are the structural advantages and robust consumer spending in these markets.
Today, consumers now want their quality products at low prices—at no extra cost!
When you order a product, they make a journey from a fulfilment centre where it’s picked, packed, and delivered in bulk with other products to a warehouse (ideally, near you). From the warehouse shelf, it makes its way to the back of a delivery vehicle, then to your doorstep—the last mile. The
