Africa extends its 'mobile-first' lead globally
With mobile-first strategies becoming crucial for businesses aiming to capture the African market, brands are prioritising mobile-first experiences to cater to the growing number of smartphone users. However, while app adoption is key, the customer experience must remain at the center of all strategies. To succeed, businesses need to unlock data around customer behavior to better segment, personalise, and engage their audiences.
Kelvin Jonck, CEO at YOUKNOW
“We believe that Amplitude is going to help solve a number of high-impact needs that businesses in our region are looking to tackle. Most of the conversations I’ve had with clients and colleagues point to a desire to understand the customer holistically as well as the customer’s full experience and journey with their brand. Amplitude has been built to solve this, bringing together the data, analytics and experimentation features that marketers, growth professionals and product teams want to solve for. We’re excited for their vision and roadmap, but also for their interest in building bridges into our market. We’re honoured to be a large part of that bridge.” Kelvin Jonck, YOUKNOW CEO.
There is a need to build better digital experiences in Africa
The mobile economy in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to contribute $184bn to the region's GDP by 2024, up from $155bn in 2019 (GSMA). This growth is indicative of the region's increasing reliance on mobile technology and the need for businesses to optimise their digital products. Despite this growth, the space faces challenges, particularly in retaining app users. According to AppsFlyer’s Global Android app uninstall rate trend (January 2022 to December 2023), more than one in every two apps are uninstalled within 30 days, with South Africa's uninstall rate at 56.39% between October and November 2023. This highlights the importance of providing an optimal user experience, achievable through trusted data insights.
In this fiercely competitive app market, understanding user behaviour across the full customer journey is crucial. Businesses need to prioritise data-driven strategies to retain users, and enhance their digital products.
South Africa’s app race
In 2023, over 76 percent of South Africans used the internet, with this number expected to grow by around 22 percentage points by 2029. E-commerce is also on the rise, with the number of users predicted to increase from 11.7 million in 2025 to 21.52 million by 2029 (Statista). South Africa’s e-commerce sector reached a record R71bn in sales value in 2023, representing 29% growth from 2022 and accounting for 6% of the total retail sector (World Wide Worx).
As digital transformation sweeps across industries, the demand for advanced product analytics software to enhance digital product performance and meet users’ global expectations grows too. This is where Amplitude’s expertise becomes invaluable.
YOUKNOW Technologies and Amplitude: A powerful partnership
Through this partnership, YOUKNOW Technologies will offer Amplitude’s best-in-class digital analytics solutions to South African businesses, enabling them to gain deep insights into customer behaviour and optimise their product experiences. Amplitude’s platform, recognised as a leader in product and web analytics, has introduced several innovations this year, including the Snowflake native offering and Session Replay, which combines the power of qualitative and quantitative data to provide a comprehensive understanding of user behaviour.
With nearly 3,000 customers globally, including prominent brands like Shopify, Uber, Walmart, Under Armour, and Skyscanner, Amplitude is trusted by companies worldwide to drive growth through data-driven product strategies. YOUKNOW Technologies is thrilled to bring these world-class solutions to the South African market, helping businesses unlock the full potential of their digital products.
By partnering with YOUKNOW, South African enterprises will have access to the local support and additional solutions to ensure they can build cross-functional teams who are upskilled in self-service analytics. YOUKNOW understands the unique challenges faced by our dynamic market, and bridges the gap between global technology and considered, ongoing support .
About YOUKNOW Technologies
YOUKNOW Technologies is a premier provider of marketing technology and analytics solutions in South Africa, dedicated to helping local businesses understand and engage with their customers through innovative and effective customer experience strategies. With a decade of experience, YOUKNOW Technologies offers a range of services, including local consulting, customised solutions, and expert implementation across a diverse technology stack.
