Takelot is trialling a new 1-hour on-demand delivery service in Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new service, TakealotNow, is currently available in the Cape Town suburbs of Durbanville, Bellville, Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Kuilsriver and Parow.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The e-commerce platform said that it hopes to add more areas in the near future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A select range of curated products is available for 1-hour delivery, such as laptops, smartphones, beauty essentials, toys, and backup power products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Consumers can access TakealotNow via a section of the MR D app, with deliveries available up until 22:00. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnline shoppers in South Africa are growing increasingly used to quick turnarounds on delivery for products like groceries and we\u2019ve seen a steady increase in sales in certain categories when we offer our popular same-day, next-day delivery or collection options,\u201d said Frederik Zietsman, CEO of Takealot.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTakealotNOW will enable us to fulfil customers\u2019 need for products, delivered faster than ever before while offering an unbeatable range across categories not yet available in the on-demand world.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Currently being trialled across South Africa in limited suburbs, the proposition opens up the opportunity to scale across the country using our tried and tested distribution network of over 15,000 delivery partners,” Alex W\u00f6rz, Mr D CEO, added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Time to adapt <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new on-demand delivery service comes amid a challenging period for Takealot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Naspers saying that Takealot’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew by 13% in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2023 (FY23), it still recorded a loss of US$22 million (R400 million), with a trading margin of -3%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Naspers attributed the decline in consumer demand to the rise in inflation and high-interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn addition, profitability was impacted by rising operational costs due to persistent national rolling power blackouts, escalating fuel costs, and the effect of global supply-chain constraints,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group will also soon have to compete with the worldwide e-commerce juggernaut of Amazon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by Mybroadband<\/a>, Amazon looks set to launch its South African marketplace in the near future, with the company advertising for several marketplace-related positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The online retail giant was looking for a marketplace manager, B-BBEE programme manager, marketing head, ER and HR compliance manager, and vendor manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, after a legal challenge, Amazon’s <\/a>new R4.5 billion office in Cape Town has been given the go-ahead to resume construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the global company initially wanted to launch its marketplace in February of this year, a source told Daily Investor<\/a> that it delayed the launch to the end of 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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