Bad news for Takealot delivery fees in South Africa

Takealot has increased the delivery fees and the minimum threshold for orders to qualify for free delivery in South Africa.

Takealot orders must now be at least R650 to qualify for free delivery, up from the previous R500.

The standard delivery charge for non-qualifying orders has also increased from R70 to R75.

Same-day delivery will cost R95, while next-day delivery is R90 for orders below R650 and R75 for orders above the threshold.

Heavy/Bulky goods are delivered by a two-man team from the Takealot Delivery Team or one of its third-party couriers at a R200 surcharge per item.

The e-commerce store has, however, recently launched TakealotMORE, which offers free delivery on purchases.

The service has two tiers: a R39 per month standard subscription and a R99 per month premium service.

Both packages allow unlimited free deliveries, but the R39 monthly subscription is limited to next-day deliveries only.

The premium package has unlimited free same-day (still a R500 minimum), next-day (no limit), and free weekend deliveries.

The service is also available collections and selecting Mr D’s orders.

Speaking to the media in June, Takealot Group CEO Frederik Zietsman said that after Takealot.com reported its first-ever profit in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2024.

Although the overall Takealot Group was still making a loss, Zietsman said that Mr D and Superbalist are making profits individually.

Zietsman said the group’s overall loss was due to Superbalist.

However, Takealot has since sold Superablist to a South African consortium of retail and private equity investors led by Blank Canvas Capital.

Superbalist has also announced to its employees that it plans to cut a large percentage of its staff.

BusinessTech received information from people close to Superbalist that the online store plans to retrench around 28% of its workforce.

The reductions are expected to hit most departments, including engineering, product management, finance, design, buying, and support.

Amazon fight

The changes at Takealot come as the group competes with global e-commerce juggernaut Amazon following the latter launching its e-commerce business in May.

Although Amazon has been operating in South Africa for over two decades through Amazon Web Services, many South Africans were excited by the launch of Amazon.co.za.

Speaking with BusinessTech in September, Robert Koen, Managing Director of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, said the group is pleased with its performance thus far.

As the local marketplace is still in its infancy, the group is set to expand its product offerings, which included the launch of a luggage section in September.

The South African marketplace is also set to focus on third-party businesses rather than its in-house brand, as it does in many other markets.

Koen said that 60% of the items sold in Amazon’s stores globally are from independent sellers, primarily small- and medium-sized businesses.

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