Online shopping test — Amazon versus Takealot

MyBroadband tested the same-day shipping from Takealot and the newly launched Amazon South Africa, and both e-commerce companies performed very well.

Amazon launched their South African marketplace on 7 May 2024, competing with Takealot with a wide product range and quick, reliable, hassle-free shopping.

Amazon offers South Africans a selection of local and international brands across 20 product categories.

For products fulfilled by Amazon, customers will enjoy free delivery on their first order, followed by free delivery for subsequent orders above R500.

Shoppers will also receive status updates via WhatsApp, so they can track their order. Amazon.co.za also offers returns within 30 days.

“Amazon.co.za offers a stress-free shopping experience, fast and reliable delivery, access to 3,000 pickup points, 24/7 customer support, and easy returns,” said Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa MD Robert Koen.

To see how Amazon South Africa compares to Takealot, we ordered identical SanDisk flash drives from both stores at 9 am Wednesday morning to test the same-day delivery claims.

The flash drive was priced at R228.00 on Takealot and R189.00 on Amazon.co.za. Amazon.co.za clearly shows that same-day delivery and other shipping options are possible on the product page.

Takealot only indicates that the product is eligible for next-day delivery or collection on the product page but reveals the option for same-day delivery while checking out.

Amazon shipping info

Takealot shipping info

The stores offered very similar delivery options at the same prices.

Same-day delivery was available for R95 from both stores, while both offered standard delivery for R70.

If we chose the cheaper shipping option, Amazon promised standard delivery on Thursday, while Takealot only claimed they would deliver by Friday.

Amazon shipping

Takealot shipping

Test results

Checkout on both platforms was simple, and we quickly got order confirmations from both platforms that our orders would arrive the same day.

Our Takealot order shipped from the Kempton Park warehouse at 11:41, while we received a confirmation from The Courier Guy that they had picked up the Amazon parcel at 12:53.

Amazon did win the race for the fastest same-day shipping when their parcel arrived at 14:53, but the Takealot order also came less than an hour later at 15:37.

These results may vary depending on your delivery area, and both offered a very satisfactory experience.

Strong competition in the market for quick online shopping will definitely benefit consumers in the long run, as it should drive prices down and ensure that both stores do their best to maintain good service levels.

The Amazon and Takealot packages