Following Temu, Amazon officially enters the South African market!

At a time when competition among global online trading platforms is fierce, e-commerce giant Amazon has taken another step toward expansion.

Recently, it was reported that Amazon launched a new site , Amazon.co.za, in South Africa , officially entering the African continent.

In fact, the news that Amazon would open a site in South Africa spread as early as April 2023, and was later postponed to October of the same year, but it was never implemented from beginning to end. It was not until now that the plan was truly implemented.

Robert Cohen, Managing Director of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, warmly welcomed Amazon’s entry and pointed out that South African customers can now trust Amazon.co.za to enjoy a stress-free shopping experience and fast and reliable delivery services.

It is understood that in order to attract a wide range of local customers, Amazon.co.za will provide 20 different categories of selected products, such as consumer electronics, sports equipment, toys, home and small kitchen appliances, including Apple, Sony, HP, LEGO, Chicco, Maybelline, Pampers, Neutrogena and other international brands. In addition, the platform will also sell some popular local brands, including Amanda-Jayne, King Kong Leather, Masodi and Tiger Lily.

At the same time, customers can also enjoy same-day and next-day delivery and worry-free returns . For products shipped by this platform, customers can enjoy free delivery on their first order , with no minimum purchase requirement, and will continue to enjoy this service for orders over R500 .

But it is worth mentioning that Amazon’s policy is extremely similar to that of South African retail e-commerce giant Takealot . Undoubtedly, the arrival of Amazon will bring certain threats to Takealot.

For sellers, Amazon's expansion is a new opportunity. South Africa's Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said that Amazon's entry provides development opportunities for local small businesses, which can not only create more jobs but also help the government solve poverty and economic inequality.

In addition, the continuous development of South Africa's e-commerce market has also attracted other cross-border platforms to settle in, such as SHEIN, which was launched in the country last year, and Temu, which was launched at the beginning of this year. There are also reports that Massmart, a subsidiary of Walmart, is also preparing to enter the South African online market.

In the future, as the penetration rate of the Internet and smartphones in South Africa increases, the potential of its e-commerce market may continue to explode. Relevant data shows that in 2023, online sales in the South African market will increase by 30% to 50 billion rand (equivalent to about 2.7 billion US dollars). It is expected that by 2027, the number of registered e-commerce users in South Africa will increase to 37.9 million, and there is a lot of room for development.

However, it is undeniable that there are still many problems in the South African e-commerce market, such as high delivery costs and low consumer trust. It may not be easy for cross-border sellers or companies to enter this market and gain a foothold.

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