E-commerce platform BoxCommerce is betting on services-based businesses, continued international expansion and an upcoming hardware device to push its growth in South Africa and a number of emerging markets.
Across the world, e-commerce has seen big gains as consumers shift to buying more via online channels, looking for better deals, a wider selection from abroad and the convenience of quick delivery times.
While much of the focus around e-commerce is on products, BoxCommerce sees an opportunity to capitalise on services.
“What we’re hoping to launch next year is the services side of things,” Sarah Holloway, COO at BoxCommerce, told Business Day in an interview.
“There are a lot of services businesses in South Africa. I think there’s a lot of gaps in the market that we cater to.”
BoxCommerce facilitates digital trade for small businesses. In essence, the company helps businesses to set up and operate their e-commerce websites. It competes in a space dominated by global players like Shopify and Squarespace.
The platform integrates payments, logistics, social media marketing tools, inventory management and order management.
Holloway said her company is geared for selling physical products and catering for inventory, logistics, shipping, but has recognised the opportunity to support service-based entrepreneurs, like plumbers or electricians, who struggle with fragmented discovery and booking systems in the local market.
Such businesses lack adequate e-commerce tools compared to product-based businesses.
BoxCommerce was founded by Craig McLeod, a South African entrepreneur and former venture capitalist, though the team is now globally distributed with staff in Eastern Europe, Indonesia and Kenya.
The business is now well established in those markets and started operating in South Africa this year, with a number of local operators now using it as the back-office platform for their e-commerce sites, including MTN affiliate Ayoba Marketplace.
As part of the broader growth strategy, the company is aggressively entering new emerging markets.
As part of the effort to stand out in a crowded market, the company prioritises localising their service for each country, such as integrating M-Pesa in Kenya or specific QR payment methods in Indonesia, Holloway says.
The opportunity in SA is clear.
According to recent data by the Ecommerce Forum South Africa, the country’s e-commerce market is projected to grow to R130bn by year-end, representing nearly 10% of total retail sales, with the balance at brick-and-mortar locations.
BoxCommerce is funded by a mix of venture capital funds and angel investors from South Africa, Nigeria, Dubai, Europe and the US.
Though Holloway declined to share exact figures, she confirmed the company has raised “a few million dollars” to date. This capital has been used primarily to build their proprietary technology platform and fund the complex integrations required in each new country they enter.
Holloway also revealed that the company is launching a proprietary hardware device in coming months. The device, likely in the form of a point of sale machine, is designed to merge physical stock management with online stock management, allowing merchants to manage inventory across both physical shops and digital shopfronts from a single system.
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