Retailers are looking to digital transformation and convergence to meet the changing needs of consumers, and to offer more value as consumers feel the economic pinch.
This is according to Ahmed Laher, CEO of Trade Link, a specialist in retail IT systems for over 30 years.
Laher said the retail environment is increasingly competitive. Retailers are gearing up to diversify, add value and enhance the in-store retail experience to bring shoppers back into stores and build customer loyalty, he noted. Key to their new strategies is advanced new networks, digital infrastructure and next-generation point of sale and payment systems.
“2026 is shaping up to be a tough year for consumers. They are going to need retailers who are price sensitive for them, who are aggressive about creating value in their shopping experiences. It’s an opportunity for retailers who invest in their supply chain with ‘farm to table’ models to ensure food availability and stability at a fair price,” he says.
“In addition to transforming operations to offer more value, retailers will also have to adapt to deal with the current challenges we see in South Africa. They must invest in building reliable supply chains, and possibly even introduce staff protection measures.”
Convergence to add value
A key trend Laher sees is retailers of all sizes looking to offer financial services. “Whether it’s banking, money transfers, insurance products or disbursing grants, most retailers want to reach beyond their traditional scope and converge with financial service providers in some way,” he says.
“Our larger retail clients are starting to become banks, and they’re going to create customised offerings for their clients that are driven by loyalty programmes including benefits such as cashback and reward schemes.”
“This new focus has made it critical for these retailers to have digital infrastructure that is secure and reliable,” Laher says.
“Network infrastructure, communications and power are going to be key. If you look at how diversified the store footprints are, providers are going to have to keep everything up so that customers can trade, especially when they start going into banking. Combined with that, we are seeing a transformation of the point-of-sale layer.
“Personal identification number entry devices are pivoting aggressively to Android. This device allows you to run other applications and segregate your banking environment from the rest of those applications you would use for loyalty and selling value added services as an example. The benefits of this are quicker deployment of new capabilities and lower costs to get these to market.
With growing digitisation, retailers are also stepping up their focus on security, Laher says. “Security is massive. Retailers are prioritising both defensive and offensive security, particularly in light of the fact that malicious actors are using AI to strengthen their attacks.”
Caution on the AI front
While cyber criminals are harnessing AI en masse, Laher does not see AI transforming local retail operations at this stage. “Everybody is talking about AI, but many local businesses believe AI comes at a massive cost and is not yet mature enough to be deployed in their mission-critical operations. They don’t understand how they will deploy into their environments.”
At Trade Link we are primarily using AI in our data team and call centres.
Trade Link steps up to drive transformation
Trade Link’s focus for 2026 will be to help its clients deliver on their next-generation retail visions, Laher says.
“With the recent market strategy change to one of convergence retail, we are assisting our customers across the board to create new customer journeys in their environments to drive feet to their stores whilst allowing them to remain agile.
“We are seeing different approaches to conversions in the different tiers of the market. Big, medium and small customers are all trying to attack specific market segments and coming to us to develop customised offerings across software, hardware and services, he says.
“Trade Link sees a lot of growth on the horizon. We’re excited to be working with our clients to build new digital environments that will meet their need for enhanced capabilities.
“We are also analytical of market trends and fluctuations, and as an example of late, have secured sufficient memory and processors well in advance to ensure zero financial impact to our customers and to ensure that market volatility in the short to medium term does not impact their projects being delivered on time,” concludes Laher.
