The effectiveness of e-marketplaces as trading platforms in Cape Town

Abstract

The goal of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of e-marketplaces for Cape Town's Small and Medium Retailers (SMRs). With the rise of e-commerce, small and medium retailers (SMRs) must find ways to stay connected to customers; geographical barriers should not be an impediment to their relationship with customers. The problem is that many South African small and medium enterprises (SMRs) have a difficult time adopting effective e-commerce trading platforms. Within a South African context, literature does not distinguish between e-commerce and e-marketplaces for SMRs. SMRs have been slow to adopt e-commerce, and an alternative to help SMRs take advantage of e-marketplaces has not been fully explored. The use of electronic marketplaces (EMs) is regarded as an easy and viable way for small and medium retailers to connect with customers and suppliers. The innovation diffusion theory (IDT) or diffusion of innovation (DOI) was used for this study. The effectiveness of electronic marketplaces as a trading platform is discussed and analysed in the literature review. In this study, a qualitative research approach was used. Based on the study's findings, analysis, and review of the literature, a framework for SMRs to evaluate the effectiveness of EMs as trading platforms was proposed. Furthermore, implementing the proposed framework necessitates a customized approach because no two SMRs are exactly alike and have different expectations from EM platforms. The study reached the conclusion that EMs are effective as trading platforms for SMRs in Cape Town.