In a bold new partnership, Mr Price Foundation and Zapper have joined forces to address South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis. Leveraging Zapper’s streamlined digital payment solutions, the partnership seeks to raise awareness and drive donations for Mr Price Foundation’s Hope4Youth campaign.

By making donating as simple as scanning a QR code, Zapper breaks down barriers to giving, empowering individuals and businesses to seamlessly support Mr Price Foundation’s transformative youth development programmes. 

Founded by Mr Price Group 20 years ago as a registered non-profit, Mr Price Foundation stands out as a leader in youth empowerment. Donations will directly support the Foundation’s mission to empower youth (aged 15-34) with sustainable economic opportunities.

Empowering youth through tech

Since its launch in 2014, Zapper has established itself as a trusted leader in South Africa’s digital payment space, serving over 1 million customers and connecting to 15 million more through partner apps. 

By harnessing this significant reach, Zapper is set to raise R500,000 in support of Mr Price Foundation’s Hope4Youth initiative by the end of 2025.

“At Zapper, we’re on a mission to use our technology not only to facilitate transactions but to drive meaningful social change. By creating a platform where donations can flow effortlessly into the Foundation’s proven youth development programmes, we’re making it easier than ever for our community to support South Africa’s youth,” said Zapper CEO Mike Bryer. 

Building on two decades of impact

With a commitment to being “Your Youth Empowerment Champion”, the Foundation has made significant strides in combating youth unemployment since 2005. South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis affects 45.5% of youth, aged 15-34. Challenges such as inadequate access to quality education, a skills mismatch, slow economic growth and structural inequalities underline the urgent need to expand initiatives like Hope4Youth.

“Through our partnership with Zapper, we have the chance to accelerate our programmes and rapidly extend our reach to more young people,” said Mr Price Foundation Executive Director Octavius Phukubye. 

“If every Zapper user and merchant contributes a small donation, we can drive a monumental shift for youth economic inclusion and economic growth aspirations,” Phukubye said.

Transforming lives through Hope4Youth

Donations raised will directly benefit the Foundation’s three flagship youth empowerment programmes: JumpStart, UpLift, and EduRise. 

Since 2015, JumpStart has developed over 57,000 youth, with over 30,000 participants successfully transitioning into jobs. Offering a suite of demand-led work-readiness programmes in key labour intensive sectors, including retail, manufacturing and tourism, JumpStart trained 7,252 unemployed youth in FY2024, with 90% securing employment at leading retail partners.

Another 154 aspiring youth entrepreneurs were supported in FY2024 through the UpLift entrepreneurship programme, which develops and supports sustainable small businesses, scale-ups and startups across various sectors, including retail, recycling, agnostic, and technology.

The EduRise programme, which focuses on enhancing tech-led literacy and numeracy and entrepreneurship development, impacted 25,214 learners and 40 lower socio-economic primary schools in FY2024, addressing the root cause of poor education and skills gaps. 

Driving national engagement

Through Zapper’s advanced in-app technology, including push notifications and geo-targeted messages, the Hope4Youth campaign will reach a national audience, making it easy for South Africans to engage and contribute.

“This is the power of partnership,” said Phukubye. “Every donation unlocks opportunities for a brighter future. Through skills development, we can ensure that every young person, regardless of background, has the opportunity to thrive.”

To support the Hope4Youth campaign, simply scan the Zapper QR code or visit Mr Price Foundation’s website. Every contribution has the power to create a more inclusive future.

With over 76% of South Africans actively participating in loyalty programmes and mobile-first solutions becoming the norm, digital wallets and integrated loyalty platforms have never been more relevant.

South African consumers are increasingly demanding integrated shopping experiences that deliver value. Loyalty participation has grown by 13% in the past decade, with cashback, points, and airtime rewards leading the way as the most sought-after benefits.

However, traditional loyalty cards often present challenges – forgotten at home, buried in wallets, or simply left unused. These missed opportunities frustrate consumers and lead to lost engagement for retailers.

Mobile First Loyalty

Answering the challenge, Zapper today announces its latest innovation, the “My Cards” feature. With over 90% smartphone penetration in South Africa and growing adoption of QR code-based payments, the shift to mobile-first loyalty management is inevitable.

Consumers want their phones to do it all: pay for purchases, earn rewards, and store loyalty information in one place, and enable users to:

• Digitise Loyalty Cards: Store loyalty, rewards, and membership cards from brands like Woolworths, Checkers, Dis-Chem, and Pick n Pay in one app.
• Access Cards Anytime, Anywhere: With mobile-first lifestyles, users can now earn and redeem rewards even on spontaneous shopping trips.
• Maximise Savings: Ensure no loyalty points, gift cards or membership perks go unused.

More rewards. Less hassle.

“Consumers value simplicity, speed, and savings,” said Mike Bryer, CEO of Zapper. “Our new ‘My Cards’ feature fits perfectly into this context. It’s a game-changer for both consumers who want a more efficient way to manage their loyalty cards and retailers seeking to engage customers more effectively.”

Bryer adds, “’My Cards’ is the bridge that connects these two goals seamlessly. It is more than a new feature; it’s a lifestyle upgrade,” said Bryer. “We’re giving South Africans the tools to shop smarter, earn more rewards, and live with less hassle. Wallets are becoming obsolete as we have shifted so many aspects of our daily life towards smartphones.”

Simplicity is key

Users can upload their loyalty and membership cards to the Zapper app by finding the feature under the “Loyalty” quadrant, scanning any loyalty card barcodes, selecting from a curated list of popular retailers, or manually inputting the card details. At checkout, users open the Zapper app, select the card, and scan it directly from their phone, and then going straight to complete payment to conclude the journey.

“The timing of this launch couldn’t be better,” concludes Bryer. “As we enter the new year with digitisation at an all-time high, this can only boost loyalty programme participation, enhance customer insights and increase sales, driving repeat business…Everyone’s a winner.”

AI has broken a new barrier of imagination on the continent of Africa this week. Immersive Fox, led by software engineer, entrepreneur and former Tech Lead at Meta, Alisa Patotskaya, has announced the launch of its groundbreaking AI-driven world’s fastest text-to-video AI actor technology in South Africa.

C-suite decision makers, spokespersons, training departments or marketers can now generate an AI actor or digital clone of a human being, and simply prompt it with paragraphs of text to come to life as a content presenter on screen, using the exact lip-synchronised voice and image. Most importantly, the AI actor can deliver the script in more than 50 languages, using the same voice and human replica, giving businesses global reach.

“Immersive Fox’s proprietary technology renders the highest-quality AI actors without the need for internal 3D models,” said Alisa Patotskaya, Founder and CEO. “The resolution, realism, range of emotions, and expressiveness of our clones surpass industry leaders. Last month, we were the first to launch hand gestures and our upcoming release will include AI-generated emotions ranging from serious to happy,” explained Patotskaya.

“We can generate a 1 minute of video content in less than a minute (compared to the closest competitor taking more than 10 minutes) and train a new personalised actor in 25 hours with only two minutes of video shot on a webcam, versus the industry practice of 10 days of processing time and 15 minutes of supervised studio recording. This gives us a 10x cost advantage over competing solutions, enabling the creation and distribution of tens of thousands of personalised videos. We can generate one minute of video content in less than one minute, compared to competitors’ average of over ten minutes for the same duration,” she added.

“We are the world’s fastest creator of AI actors, thanks to our unique architecture and methodology. Our technology is revolutionising sales and digital marketing, corporate training, coaching, and education. By offering unparalleled speed and quality, we empower marketers to create hyper-personalized marketing campaigns and quickly A/B test them to find the perfect advertising video that brings the highest conversion. Our video player enables autoplay preview in the message – across email, social media, and ads.”

Video is being used to add more personalised email content through embedded videos, enhance SEO, and create captivating social media and video posts and ads. The announcement comes at a crucial time when the marketing industry grapples with the need for high-quality, relevant content and efficient lead nurturing processes.

In the current digital age, marketers face numerous challenges. Email marketing demands high-quality, relevant content to maintain engagement, yet producing such content consistently is a daunting task. Content marketing and SEO require constant updates to align with evolving search engine algorithms, with metrics like time on page, bounce rate, and social shares heavily influencing rankings. Moreover, video content has proven to be a key driver of engagement, but its production is time-consuming and expensive. Social media marketing and advertisements also require captivating visuals to stand out in a crowded digital space. “Our AI technology offers a solution to several pressing issues, enabling marketers to create engaging, high-quality content quickly and cost-effectively. We are proud to say that we have integrated with well-known customer platform, HubSpot, which is a statement of trust in our product,” Patotskaya added.

LLMs such as ChatGPT have meant that text-based content is fast and easy for anyone to create, flattening the quality of content online. By contrast, video generates more engagement, one of the most important metrics for marketers, alongside brand sentiment and trust. The AI actors can also deliver messages from recognised company spokespersons, bolstering a consistent and reliable communication strategy.

“As a social media and gaming educator in this country, MySociaLife needs to respond to daily trends, producing content quickly, but also affordably. Using Immersive Fox, our training can be agile and on-trend. In addition, our lessons can be translated and presented in other languages, which opens up new regions to us; that’s our next focus. If we use AI for good, we can dramatically change outcomes here in Africa, and local EdTech providers can extend their reach internationally,” explained Dean McCoubrey, Founder of MySociaLife.

“Immersive Fox expects that the majority of video content will be produced using AI in the next 5 years across the globe. Up until now, video has felt costly as it requires crews, actors and locations. The ability to try different messages, without shooting and editing constantly creates agility and variation that can be tested, allowing marketers to repurpose content in multiple formats, including video, without additional effort. AI continues to unlock doors we could never have previously imagined. This continent can benefit from automation in areas where it has previously struggled. When you think about coaching or education in emerging markets, for example, these are truly exciting times,” concluded Mrs. Patotskaya.

Luno customers are now able to pay using crypto at over 31,000 merchants in the Zapper payments network across the country, ranging from Dis-Chem pharmacies and FlySafair to fuel stations, educational institutions, bill payments, parking, donations and more. This opens a huge market for South Africans to pay for goods and services using crypto, according to licensed financial service provider and South Africa’s largest crypto investment app, Luno.

Tarris Arnold, Luno’s business development manager, says, “We are delighted to be the first crypto asset service provider in South Africa collaborating with Zapper. This allows our customers to use the Luno app to pay anywhere Zapper QR codes are used.”

“Currently the biggest use case for crypto in South Africa is investment, but the ability to pay at such a wide variety of merchants using crypto is a giant step closer to the original vision of using crypto to pay for goods and services.”

Luno customers can simply use the Luno app to scan any Zapper QR code at merchant points of sale or online to pay using the crypto in their Luno wallets. Payment limits on Luno Pay are up to R100,000 per transaction.

Mike Bryer, CEO of Zapper, adds, “Our mission is to help Zapper merchants grow their businesses, which is why Zapper is one of the most widely used QR code payment solutions in South Africa. By collaborating with Luno, we are expanding our payments ecosystem to add over 5 million more South African users to our network.”

Get ready to kick off your shoes and step into the cosiest, most heart warming day of the year. Slipper Day, Reach For A Dream‘s biggest fundraiser, returns on 31 May 2024, promising a day filled with warmth and generosity—all in support of children with life-threatening illnesses.

Since its inauguration in 2011, Slipper Day has become a nationwide movement where everyone from office workers to school children band together to make dreams come true for children with critical diseases like cancer, renal failure, and heart conditions, simply by buying a R20 sticker and wearing it with some comfy slippers on the day.

This year’s theme, “Step into My Slippers,” focuses on empathy, fun, and stepping into the shoes (or rather, slippers) of these brave children. This simple act demonstrates solidarity and support for these children, who often spend their days in slippers due to their health conditions.

“Our children face unimaginable struggles each day in the hospital. Their courage and resilience are awe-inspiring,” says Julia Sotirianakos, CEO of Reach For A Dream. “This year, we’re calling on everyone to buy a sticker and step into their slippers on Slipper Day. By trading your shoes for slippers, you’re stepping into these youngsters’ world, showing them that they are not alone in this fight.”

Zapper’s Role and Commitment

Zapper is excited to announce a new twist to their support for Slipper Day: by purchasing virtual Slipper Day stickers through Zapper, not only do you support a great cause, but Wimpy are kindly offering a voucher, through Zapper’s app, for a free regular Famous Wimpy Coffee or a small Hot Chocolate for kids under 12. On 31 May, participants are encouraged to wear their slippers and redeem their coffee or hot chocolate at any Wimpy location by scanning to pay with Zapper.

“Slipper Day is more than just a fundraiser; it’s a movement that brings together communities from all corners of South Africa to support a noble cause,” says Stephen Smith, Head of Marketing at Zapper. “Our collaboration with Reach for a Dream signifies our commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of children who need it the most. Integrating our payment technology to facilitate easy donations and rewarding participants with a treat from Wimpy embodies the spirit of community and support that Slipper Day stands for.”

All funds raised from Slipper Day go to the Reach For A Dream Foundation, a non-profit organisation that makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses. Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has turned more than 27,670 dreams into reality. These dreams—ranging from meeting personal heroes to experiencing new things for the first time—provide the children with a temporary escape from their illness and a much-needed distraction from often painful medical treatments. Most importantly, fulfilled dreams inspire hope, giving these children a reason to believe that tomorrow is worth fighting for.

A Call to Action

Zapper invites all South Africans to join in this heartfelt initiative. Buy your virtual Slipper Day stickers – not just for yourself but also friends, family or colleagues – through the Zapper app, for just R20 each. Purchasing multiple virtual stickers means earning multiple vouchers, which you can use at Wimpy on 31st May, with whomever you like, while donning those cosy slippers.

Show your support and help spread the message by sharing your Slipper Day moments on social media using the hashtags #SlipperDay2024 and #StepIntoMySlippers.

Despite many documented market and economic challenges, many brands continue to invest heavily in e-commerce marketing. In fact, the current global e-commerce market is valued at around $5.5 trillion (R101 trillion), and it is estimated that online retail sales will soon reach $6.7 trillion (R123 trillion) by the end of this year, with e-commerce making up 22.3% of those sales.

Data from 2022 provided by FNB Merchant Services indicated that the online e-commerce market in South Africa has experienced rapid growth and is presently valued at almost R200 billion annually, with retailers such as Takealot, Woolworths, and Checkers, adapting to evolving consumer trends. Statistics from FNB show that total online sales in 2020 jumped by 55% and another 42% in 2021, driven by increased spending in less traditional e-commerce industries. South Africa’s e-commerce market will reach more than R400 billion by 2025 on the back of more than 1 billion transactions per annum.

As this unfolds in South Africa, businesses are working hard to position themselves for success by catering to customer needs and following key global e-commerce trends.

How mobile apps are reshaping the e-commerce industry

Mobile apps are now a fundamental component of retail, as they provide customers with a convenient and engaging way to shop from their phones. The past couple of years has been rocket fuel for digital transformation, providing an opportunity for the retail industry to innovate. Whilst global trends continue to point to the user growth of Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, the trends underneath the headlines highlight significant opportunities to drive new customer acquisition, which in turn demands a targeted customer retention strategy from companies.

According to research from Baymard Institute, 69.82% of online shopping carts are abandoned, and with demand expected to continue, pressure is growing on retailers to expand current offerings and create personalised experiences to tackle this. One of the big challenges e-commerce companies face, though, is analysing and maximising behaviour of users, and bringing down the cost of their marketing and engagement against how much is earned through a customer making a purchase.

To meet customer demand, mobile apps offer a variety of features such as push notifications, product recommendations, exclusive discounts and offers, and easy checkout processes, to make the shopping experience easier for customers. By leveraging the power of mobile technology, brands can create an immersive shopping experience tailored specifically to their customer’s needs, and this in turn helps increase customer loyalty, customer return rates, and maximise online revenue.

How to retarget, re-engage and retain customers in 2023 and beyond

Brands should focus on re-engaging with returning consumers through a personalised strategy as this can help increase the lifetime value of users, which in turn helps brands bring the cost of their marketing down, knowing that brand loyalty has been achieved. According to research from Google and Storyline Strategies study, 72% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand if they offer a personalised experience.

Optimising the online shopping experience is crucial in retaining customers. Today, consumers need a more ‘human’ touch, i.e., smart product suggestions based on buying history & behaviour that helps build a one-to-one relationship between brand and buyer. In particular, push notifications haven’t just enhanced personalisation but also increased app engagement by up to 88%. Push notifications have also proven to get disengaged users back, too, with 65% returning to an app within 30 days of the push notification.

Another strategy to consider is the option of adding buy now, pay later (BNPL) options at checkouts for customers. Brands that add the option of financing at the checkout allow customers to spread the cost over time, which according to Klarna has resulted in a 30% increase in checkout conversation rates.

Publisher platforms allow brands to leverage their reach and sticky user base. Especially with open platforms such as SHAREit, which can help e-commerce brands create a strong revenue conversion with higher average order value with unique retargeting and user acquisition solutions. Because users are not just sharing product links, but also sharing ecommerce apps and deals among their community. Users of these publisher platforms are also encouraged to share products and apps through platform activities.

The future of e-commerce for brands

E-commerce is quickly becoming the future of retail. With the rise of technology, customers now have access to various products and services worldwide with just a few taps on their mobiles, making shopping more accessible and efficient than ever.

Now more than ever before, today’s brands must put consumers at the heart of everything they do. From offering the right incentive and payment options to personalising the shopping experience, brands need to cater to specific consumer preferences if they want to influence purchasing decisions and improve engagement and retention figures.

While subscription-based payment is new within the realm of insurance, young consumers are more than familiar with this payment method, which is frequently engaged by popular brands such Netflix and Spotify.

Prin Munsamy, Solutions Actuary at Metropolitan GetUp, says that this model will enable consumers to cancel or renew their insurance ‘subscription’ at any time, putting the client in full control of their cover.

“Developed with the end-user firmly in mind, GetUp Atom acts as a one-stop solution that offers fast, uncomplicated, comprehensive and affordable funeral cover to policy holders and their families. Subscription is also a ‘once-off’ process; meaning that once someone becomes a Metropolitan GetUp Atom client, they will not need to apply again.”

Inspired by the structure of an atom, the product features core cover and includes benefits such as repatriation, payment protection and cover for up to 20 lives, while its suite of additional benefits, such as cashback and value protection, are optional and can be added or removed according to clients’ needs or life stages.

Another feature that differentiates Atom from other funeral products is its Cover Stretch benefit. Munsamy explains that while traditional funeral products generally lapse after three premium payments are missed, GetUp didn’t want its customers to have this ‘cold experience’, and instead sought to give clients breathing room in times of financial distress.

Says Munsamy, “Life happens and premiums are missed during difficult times. Atom’s Cover Stretch benefit allows one to keep their plan active for up to one year when times are tough, by redeeming ‘Cover Stretch tokens’ – which are, in essence, an opportunity to miss a premium while still retaining some level of cover.

Munsamy explains that as with all GetUp’s financial solutions, Atom is linked to Life Hacks. “Life Hacks is what we call ‘adulting 101’, which gives customers practical tools to improve their financial position by taking co-accountability for protecting themselves and their loved ones.”

With Atom, customers can also earn up to 10% of their premiums in cash each year for successfully completing certain Life Hacks.

Munsamy explains that GetUp, Metropolitan’s fintech arm, was born out of a desire to put younger, digitally-minded South Africans in control of their finances – a market that is facing mounting financial pressures – and he believes that this approach to insurance will pave the way for others in future.

“GetUp is centred around a strong digital offering with omni-channel agility. Flexibility is intrinsic in all products and GetUp’s adaptable offering can be engaged according to the policy holder’s life stage, while communication is simple, clear and easy to understand. There’s absolutely no jargon, fine print or complicated legal speak,” says Munsamy.

He says that as with all GetUp’s solutions, Atom is designed around the needs of the client.

“We’ve stripped away the stuff that our customers have told us is not important to them, and added new features and flexibility, which add real value to their lives. This is just the start for GetUp; we’re carving a unique protection offering for clients where our developments are guided by our communities and their priorities,” he concludes.