One of the enduring myths about the early days of Amazon is that the flood of orders revealed severe process weaknesses in the back office. Even Jeff Bezos, so the story runs, had to pitch in to fill cardboard boxes. Turns out the interface between the real and digital worlds remains a challenge, as real-world retailers attempt to establish bridgeheads in the virtual world, while online darlings like Amazon open up brick-and-mortar shops.

This real/virtual world dynamic is playing out in the domestic car-sales market. Home-grown online platform Carter (www.heycarter.co.za) opened its first premises, a Renault dealership, on Corlett Drive, in Johannesburg, late last year.