How Shop and Ship became Takealot’s overall Top Seller
Shop and Ship – a leading South African multi-platform e-commerce business – recently won the Top Seller award at the first-ever Takealot Marketplace Summit Awards evening, held at the Sandton Convention Centre on the 4th of October 2023.
The Takealot platform comprises over 10,500 active sellers across numerous categories, making Shop and Ship’s Top Seller award incredibly impressive.
“This accolade is a testament to their exceptional performance across various metrics over many years,” said Takealot.com CEO Frederik Zietsman.
“They’ve made a significant customer impact through offering in-demand products, maintained a high-quality customer experience, and demonstrated top-notch operational performance.”
“Moreover, their adherence to regulatory and legislative requirements has been commendable. Their dedication to excellence sets a high standard in our marketplace.”
Evan and Ryan Shein, co-founders of Shop and Ship, said the business was extremely proud to win this important award.
“The Shop and Ship team has put in an incredible amount of hard work over the years to deliver on our vision of being at the forefront of e-commerce in South Africa and particularly on the Takealot Marketplace, so it’s really great to see that come to fruition,” said Evan.
Added Ryan: “We have built extensive experience and invested heavily over the last 16 years as a business to get us to this point, and this is just the beginning. We love operating in this landscape and it’s an incredibly exciting time for e-commerce in SA.”
The growth of e-commerce
This accolade serves as just reward for the huge growth Shop and Ship has experienced in South Africa since it was founded in 2007 – now considered the “early days” of local e-commerce.
Since then, online e-commerce has boomed globally, as well as in South Africa, where there has been nearly 40% annual growth in total online retail spend between 2021 and 2023.
Online marketplaces like the Takealot marketplace form a key part of this growth, as they provide a seamless way to connect sellers to a large number of prospective customers.
In fact, according to Takealot data, its marketplace accounts for over 60% of all Takealot Gross Merchandise Value (GMV).
This is a trend that has been seen globally, too – Amazon’s marketplace, for example, accounts for nearly 60% of all Amazon sales worldwide.
The Shop and Ship background
Shop and Ship was founded in 2007 around a dining room table and has grown into a well-established, market-leading and multi-platform e-commerce operation in South Africa, including being an Authorised Apple Reseller.
The business boasts full warehousing and logistics capabilities, long-standing supplier relationships and very experienced staff.
Shop and Ship has been an active participant on the Takealot Marketplace for close on seven years and started off selling a wide variety of leading consumer electronic brands on the platform.
The business is also an active seller on the Makro Marketplace platform and serves customers via its own websites Shop and Ship and Macnificent.
Shop and Ship’s combination of excellent brands, dedication to customer service, unrivalled experience, and award-winning calibre therefore make it the obvious choice for many leading brands.
The business follows a multi-platform approach with representation and unrivalled ability over a variety of South Africa’s leading platforms.
Big plans for growth
Shop and Ship refuses to rest on its laurels, however, and is continuously diversifying its catalogue beyond the electronics sector.
“We are in the process of entering the pets, baby, homeware, and lifestyle categories on Takealot, and have secured supplier relationships with leading international brands in these categories. Brands such as ZippyPaws, Hydro Cell and Baby Shusher to name a few.” said Evan.
They have also secured a supplier partnership with a market leading and top selling brand on Amazon US, in the homeware/active and outdoor categories, and will launch this in SA in Q1 of 2024. Shop and Ship will also distribute this brand into strategic bricks and mortar stores.
“We are incredibly proud of our team and look forward to continuing our role in Takealot’s marketplace success and the broader e-commerce industry in SA” said Ryan.
Shop and Ship’s focus is not exclusive to Takealot, either, and they are keeping a close eye on Amazon’s entry into South Africa.
Amazon is bringing its e-commerce operations to the country in 2024 and this provides a great opportunity for Shop and Ship to reach a large audience of local consumers using the same business model that has brought it so much success on Takealot.
The team at Shop and Ship have set an ambitious goal – to become the Top Seller on Amazon South Africa – which they are confident they can achieve.
“We are excited by Amazon’s entrance into the market and look forward to being part of their growth in South Africa,” said the brothers.
With Shop and Ship experiencing unprecedented success and growth, it is a great time to be a South African online shopper.
Click here to learn more about Shop and Ship’s products on Takealot.com.
Click here to visit Shop and Ship
Click here to visit Macnificent
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