Retailers’ Branding and Digital Maturity: Empirical Comparison of Selected South African and German Markets

Digital disruption is pervasive, but affects retail acutely. A key question is: How are retailers adapting
in times of digital turbulence? The purpose of this study, therefore, was to better understand the
spectrum of digital maturation and branding practices of retailers. Through the use of a scoring model,
a digital maturity and branding scale was developed and applied to 933 businesses located in two
cities in South Africa and Germany. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from observation
in the field and an Internet desk study. These scales provide key components that are important to
incorporate into the business strategy to build digitally mature brands. Cross-country comparison
offered layered insights into digital maturity and branding professionalism. Both constructs were
affected by the geographical footprint and tenure of retailers.
The paper contributes to an improved definition of the term digital maturity by identifying different
classes of digital maturity. The four stages of digital maturity, as introduced in the study, can be
understood as stages of transformation. A retailer that has established a business focused on the
fixed channel (the store in the city) is usually characterized as an “Offliner”, as a starting point. The
transformation to “Digital Forerunner” follows the path of the three stages that ensue. On the other
hand, recently-founded companies as well as international market entrants are characterized by a
more advanced level of digital maturity, as “Advanced Onliners” or “Digital Forerunners”. Several
companies in these categories start their businesses as hybrids (online and offline) as digital-local
retailers. On the other hand, the extensive presence of long-standing and established family-owned
retailers is a strong indicator of resistance to digital engagement.
The study illustrated that the digital engagement of companies with an international footprint goes
hand in hand with the level of intensity of branding practices. The reverse applies for locally-rooted
smaller companies at the other end of the scale, in particular local retailers: according to the
observational data, such companies were lagging behind in both constructs.