A start-up called Hyperli is trying to fill the void created by Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) in South Africa. The South African customers, who had come to accept Groupon fondly for its online marketplace, will find a new place to go to now. With Groupon exiting the SA market completely, a start-up Hyperli was quick to act when the chance was bright.
South Africans love deals
Wayne Gosling is the CEO of Hyperli, which is trying to fill the hole created by Groupon in the online marketplace in SA. The CEO says that for businesses and consumers, the times are tough right now. To offer feasible products with immediate deals, can definitely create good business sense. In order to offer the deals and satisfy consumers, the new company has also partnered with a few brands in the SA market.
Since 2009, SA customers have come to accept online shopping as a part of commerce. Special offers, product reviews, ease of shopping, time saving and price comparing have made shopping easy for this market. It has been found that approximately 42% South Africans are constantly looking for the deals or discount coupons for online shopping. When Groupon was a part of this market, the researchers found that about 82% of the merchants who had already availed the deals through their sites were expected to return for further deals.
The CEO of hyperli believes that e-commerce adoption is still in its infancy in the South African market. But, this has a bright future, considering the growth of smartphones. The coming year, according to the company CEO, will be a period that will create breakthrough.
Groupon’s exit from SA market
Last month, Groupon exited the SA market completely, after the company registered a $35.8m net loss in Q32016. It has also started scaling down its international operations across the world. Groupon has decided to marrow down its business operations from 27 countries to just 15 countries, which is why SA market exit is explained.
