Online retailer Amazon.co.za says it has seen steady growth in sales, with thousands of new local shoppers taking to its platform every week.
In May, the US-based e-commerce giant opened shop in SA to take on established players, such as Naspers-owned Takealot and online marketplaces Bob Shop and Massmart-owned Makro Marketplace.
Amazon is also facing stiff competition from Chinese e-commerce players, such as Shein and Temu, in the South African market.
Robert Koen, MD of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, tells ITWeb: “We are very pleased with the performance of our Amazon.co.za store thus far, particularly our customers’ response to our first-ever Black Friday Sale event in South Africa.
“We are seeing thousands of new customers shop the store every week, and what is even more encouraging, is that we are seeing an increase in repeat visits from customers because they love the convenience of our delivery options and are able to find value in the store every day.”
While Amazon is not able to provide performance figures at a country level, since inception, the online shopping site has onboarded thousands of sellers and small businesses, with the aim to have more than 60% of sales on its e-commerce store being from independent sellers.
“We have had thousands of sellers register for our marketplace and we are working with them to get their products onto the store and into the hands of South African customers.”
E-commerce experts previously said that Amazon’s SA debut is expected to trigger a “battle of the marketplaces” amid SA’s growing online shopping market.
This, they noted, will turbocharge the e-commerce sector – which currently contributes less than 6% of overall retail sales in SA – creating huge potential for individual and business sellers.
“I think the increased competition can add value to the e-commerce environment and will force everyone to up their game and offer better services and prices – which will ultimately benefit consumers and grow the e-commerce sector – and that’s good for everyone,” said Yaeesh Moosa, head of marketplace at Takealot.com, at the time.
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