Takealot reopens and will now deliver essentials during South Africa’s lockdown

Takealot officially reopened as of Monday (30 March) and the group will now focus on the sale and delivery of essential goods during South Africa’s 21-day lockdown.

After carefully reviewing the legislation and looking at what other local retailers are offering, the group said it has curated a comprehensive selection of essential items to purchase.

It added that it has put precautionary measures in place to prevent non-essential items from going through its checkout process and will be monitoring this closely in compliance with Government directives.

“To assist in the prevention of panic buying, we have also imposed stock limitations to certain key products and will be restricting customers to no more than five of these items per checkout We will continue to monitor buying behaviour and may expand on these key products as the need arises,” it said.

“We are ensuring compliance with the recent price gouging legislation and will ensure that our marketplace sellers also comply. Given the nature of the platform our seller compliance will be retrospective.”

Takealot said it will not be offering collections or drop-offs at any of its Takealot Pickup Points during this time, including its Cape Town Warehouse. It also won’t be accepting Cash on Delivery payments in support of our Contactless Delivery process.

“In our ongoing commitment to the safety of our staff, partners, drivers and customers, we will continue to enforce the preventative hygiene safety measures, guided by international best practice and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for all deliveries.

“We believe that we can play an important part in the lives of South African’s during this time, supplying essential goods to your doors in a manner that is safe and secure, and we are happy that the authorities agree with us.”

Given that its platform is conducive to social distancing and from what we see happening elsewhere in the world, Takealot said it will continue to lobby the government to allow us to deliver more than just essential products, as defined, in the weeks to come.

“We recognise that as the weeks drag on the definition of essential products needs to either be removed or broadened to maintain your mental and physical wellbeing at this very difficult time,” it said.

Essential goods

Regulations published by the Department of Cooperative and Government Affairs state that all retail shops and shopping malls must be closed, except where these essential goods are sold. The regulations also state that stores will be prohibited from selling any other goods.

These include:

Food 

• Any food product – including non-alcoholic beverages. It is important to note that the sale of alcoholic beverages has been completely banned and that South Africans have also been prohibited from transporting alcohol;
• Animal (pet food);
• Chemicals, packaging and ancillary products used in the production of any food.

Cleaning and hygiene products 

• Toilet paper, sanitary pads, sanitary tampons, condoms;
• Hand sanitiser, disinfectants, soap, alcohol for industrial use, household cleaning products, personal protective equipment;
• Chemicals, packaging and ancillary products used in the production of any of the above.

Medical 

• Medical and hospital supplies, equipment and personal protective equipment;
• Chemicals, packaging and ancillary products used in the production of any of the above.

Fuel

• This includes gas and coal.

Basic goods 

• This includes airtime and electricity. While this category is relatively vague, it will likely be guided by the essential services which are currently outlined by the gazette.

Read: Stockpiling restrictions at South African shops will remain in place during the coronavirus lockdown