Shop and Ship named Takealot’s overall Top Seller – The secret behind the success

Leading South African multi-platform e-commerce business, Shop and Ship, won the Top Seller award at the first-ever Takealot Marketplace Summit Awards evening.
The award ceremony was held at the Sandton Convention Centre on the 4th of October 2023 and saw Shop and Ship rank #1 from over 10,500 active sellers on the Takealot platform.
“This accolade is a testament to their exceptional performance across various metrics over many years,” said Takealot.com CEO Frederik Zietsman.
“They’ve made a significant customer impact through offering in-demand products, maintained a high-quality customer experience, and demonstrated top-notch operational performance.”
“Moreover, their adherence to regulatory and legislative requirements has been commendable. Their dedication to excellence sets a high standard in our marketplace.”
The growth of e-commerce
Shop and Ship has experienced massive growth in South Africa since it was founded around a dining room table in 2007 – the “early days” of local e-commerce.
It has since grown into a well-established, market-leading, and multi-platform e-commerce operation in South Africa with full warehousing and logistics capabilities, long-standing supplier relationships and very experienced staff.
Also an Authorised Apple Reseller, Shop and Ship has been an active participant on the Takealot Marketplace for nearly seven years and began its journey by selling products from leading consumer electronic brands on the platform.
The business is also an active seller on the Makro Marketplace platform and serves customers via its own websites Shop and Ship and Macnificent.
Shop and Ship’s combination of excellent brands, dedication to customer service, unrivalled experience, and award-winning calibre therefore make it the obvious choice for many leading brands looking for an online partner.
Recognition for hard work
Evan and Ryan Shein, co-founders of Shop and Ship, said they are extremely proud to win this important award.
“The Shop and Ship team has put in an incredible amount of hard work over the years to deliver on our vision of being at the forefront of e-commerce in South Africa and particularly on the Takealot Marketplace, so it’s really great to see that come to fruition,” said Evan.
“We have built extensive experience and invested heavily over the last 16 years as a business to get us to this point, and this is just the beginning,” added Ryan.
“We love operating in this landscape and it’s an incredibly exciting time for e-commerce in SA.”
The growth of e-commerce
The brother’s sentiments about the state of e-commerce in South Africa is backed up by data.
In South Africa, there has been almost 40% annual growth in total online retail spend between 2021 and 2023 – and Takealot forms a key part of this growth.
It facilitates a seamless way to connect sellers to many prospective customers – with 60% of all Takealot Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) coming from its marketplace.
This trend has been seen globally, too – Amazon’s marketplace, for example, accounts for nearly 60% of all Amazon sales worldwide.
Big plans for growth
Given the exciting growth opportunities for e-commerce in South Africa, Shop and Ship refuses to rest on its laurels, and is continuously diversifying its catalogue beyond the electronics sector.
“We are in the process of entering the pets, baby, homeware, and lifestyle categories on Takealot, and have secured supplier relationships with leading international brands in these categories,” said Evan.
These brands include ZippyPaws, Hydro Cell and Baby Shusher to name a few.
Shop and Ship has also secured a supplier partnership with a market-leading and top-selling brand on Amazon US, in the homeware/active and outdoor categories, and will launch this in South Africa in Q1 of 2024.
Shop and Ship will distribute this brand into strategic brick-and-mortar stores, too.
Shop and Ship’s focus is not exclusive to Takealot, either, and they are keeping a close eye on Amazon’s entry into South Africa.
Amazon is bringing its e-commerce operations to the country in 2024 and this provides a great opportunity for Shop and Ship to reach a large audience of local consumers using the same business model that has brought it so much success on Takealot.
The team at Shop and Ship have set an ambitious goal – to become the Top Seller on Amazon South Africa – which they are confident they can achieve.
“We are excited by Amazon’s entrance into the market and look forward to being part of their growth in South Africa,” said the brothers.
“We are incredibly proud of our team and look forward to continuing our role in Takealot’s marketplace success and the broader e-commerce industry in South Africa,” said Ryan.
With Shop and Ship experiencing unprecedented success and growth, it is a great time to be a South African online shopper.
Click here to learn more about Shop and Ship’s products on Takealot.com.
Click here to visit Shop and Ship.
Click here to visit Macnificent.