Trust and Verify

Two seemingly unrelated announcements were made by a pair of tech industry heavyweights - Apple and (eBay's) PayPal. Apple extended two-step verification - where a code sent to an old device must be used to change an account or buy something on a new device - to 49 countries, including China, India, Brazil and dozens of other developing nations. Nigeria was not on the list. This is noteworthy because PayPal announced that tens of thousands of Nigerians signed up for PayPal in the first week of operations there. PayPal and its partners (a prominent local lending partner, suppliers in Dubai and China, and fast-growing online retailer Jumia) claim that e-commerce in Nigeria has officially arrived.

Of course, for consumers, signing up for PayPal or verifying a new iPhone is only the beginning of the online buying experience. The bloom will quickly fade from the e-commerce rose if buyers fail to receive an order or fall victim to identity theft. The trust barrier is considerably higher for emerging-market consumers than it is for their mature-market counterparts. In many developing countries, people generally mistrust banks, operators, mail delivery organizations, foreign companies, and the legal system's capacity to prosecute fraud or theft. It will take a concerted effort to build trust and educate new smartphone users about risk, data protection and privacy.

As smartphones and wearables are used for more and more functions, trust and education will determine the growth rate for online purchasing. Device makers, app developers, and service providers (including back-end hosts) all have tremendous opportunities up and down the e-commerce value chain. Multinational companies that build reliable public - and private-sector partnerships (particularly with delivery services) and implement strong, user-friendly security measures will foster trust. To be truly effective, these efforts should accompany early and continued investment in brand marketing via localized content and messaging that reinforces security features. Providing a platform for user reviews and focusing on early adopters and influencers through social media can also validate the online buying experience and address the trust issues of willing but wary buyers. 

McDelivery – interesting spin on eCommerce

by Karen Coppock
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When thinking about eCommerce, the Big Mac normally isn’t top of mind…..but McDonalds actually has a webpage (and phone line) in several international markets where you can order a meal for home delivery. From India to Singapore to Argentina, China and Brazil, McDonalds will deliver a Big Mac - or a Chicken Maharaja Mac in the case of India - to your home or office.

In India, McDonalds is considered a family restaurant, so it would not be outside of the realm of possibility that you order an online meal for the entire family for home delivery. This would also make the 50¢ delivery fee less costly as a percent of the total price of the meal. It also has a special section – and kitchen - for vegetarians given that more than half of the country doesn’t eat meat. McDonalds also caters to the more upscale market, so their online service is in line with their target market.

In Argentina you can download a java application, McEntrega Móvil, and make your selections via your mobile phone, which is much more ubiquitous than computers or even landline phones in Latin America. In Brazil, you can pay via cash, credit card, or “ticket” – which is a bar coded invoice that you scan at your local ATM and pay via your bank account. Brazilians have to pay their phone, cable and other bills via their local banks (ATMs) – they also use this mechanism to pay for their online (eCommerce) purchases - so is a pretty standard payment process.

In countries with horrid traffic and sometimes safety issues, home or office delivery is the ultimate convenience. eCommerce may just be starting in some emerging markets, but in this instance it may be more advanced than what McDonalds offers in the US.