South Africa’s biggest e-commerce retailer, Takealot, has hired thousands of personal shoppers to help it penetrate townships and rural areas and fend off increased competition from global rivals. Attracted by growth potential and South Africa’s strategic position, companies have invested in the country’s price-conscious e-commerce market. Among the international names that have made inroads are Chinese fast-fashion retailers Temu and Shein.
A few months after PDD’s Temu started selling into South Africa in January, US retail giant Amazon followed suit in May. “You can’t argue that they had an impact on the overall retail environment,” Frederik Zietsman, Takealot Group CEO, said in an interview, referring to the Chinese players and Amazon. “I think more dramatically, the cost of doing business has gone up significantly.
” Companies regard South Africa as an entry point to expand into the continent because it has more mobile internet users, higher smartphone penetration and a proliferation of new payment methods such as “buy now, pay later” (BNPL). Takealot Group, owned by Naspers, houses Takealot.com — which sells items from household goods to electronics — and food and grocery delivery platform Mr D.
But a weak economic environment and competition from global entrants has curbed the group’s growth. Takealot.com’s gross merchandise value growth slowed in its first half ended 30 September, rising by 10% compared with 15% in the same period last yea.
