Business16.01.2025

Amazon and Takealot crush Incredible in South African online delivery battle

MyBroadband compared the delivery turnarounds and prices of four of South Africa’s foremost e-commerce stores for technology products and was impressed with all but one’s performance.

The first retailer we used is South Africa’s biggest online-only store — Takealot.

The retailer is well-known for its extensive assortment of tech across many categories, often at highly competitive prices.

Takealot’s biggest threat in online-only e-commerce is Amazon.co.za, which launched in May 2024.

While some South Africans and industry analysts have found its rollout underwhelming, two seasoned e-commerce experts recently told MyBroadband that Amazon plays a deliberate slow launch game in some markets.

In several instances in other countries, a gradual and measured expansion led to the retailer leading within a few years.

The two other retailers we used in our delivery comparison started out only as physical brick-and-mortar franchises.

However, they also have well-established e-commerce divisions to cater towards increasingly online-savvy shoppers in South Africa.

Massmart’s Makro has been investing heavily in improving its online shopping experience and selection and leverages its extensive store footprint to speed up deliveries.

JD Group’s Incredible Connection has been synonymous with tech in South Africa since the late 1990s.

While its Wikipedia page describes the retailer as the largest consumer electronics and IT retailer in the country and the African continent, its relevance has waned in recent years due to intensified competition.

Many of the store’s traditional customers are those who have long been comfortable with shopping online.

Aside from Takealot, numerous smaller tech-focused online stores have become well-established, including Evetech, GeeWiz, First Shop, Futurama, and Wootware, to name a few.

For our latest online shopping test, we ordered the same 128GB Sandisk Ultra Fit USB thumb drive from the Amazon.co.za, Incredible, Makro, and Takealot.

All four orders were placed within a 10-minute time span early in the morning on Tuesday, 14 January 2025.

JD Group has started using Incredible Connection for its physical stores, while the outlet’s online division is simply called “Incredible”

For a like-for-like comparison, we used the most affordable delivery option available from each store.

Amazon.co.za offered the best delivery terms with free next-day delivery, which we selected. It also had a same-day option priced at just R1 and free collection from a Pargo pickup point.

Makro had the second most affordable standard delivery fee of R50, with a two working days turnaround. Certain stores also offer a collection option.

Takealot and Incredible’s standard delivery fees were the highest at R75. However, Takealot’s claimed delivery turnaround was two business days, while Incredible’s was two to five business days.

Incredible had the upper hand in collection fees — which were free from all its stores — while Takealot charged a standard R35 for collecting from one of its pickup points.

When it comes to the price of the product itself, Amazon.co.za and Takealot were tied for the best price tag of R249.

Makro’s listing was the next most affordable at R379, while Incredible was the most expensive at R429.

Takealot the fastest — with a tight contest for second

The first order to arrive was from Takealot, landing at our office at 11:00 in the morning on Wednesday, 15 January 2024.

The Makro order took silver by a slim margin, with delivery at 14:38, followed by the Amazon.co.za order at 14:42.

However, Amazon’s total time from order placement to delivery was two minutes shorter than Makro’s.

Both Takealot and Makro beat their expected delivery date of Thursday, 16 January 2024, while Amazon was right on schedule.

The only order we had not received the day after placement was Incredible’s, which was still showing as “in processing” by the end of the day.

It was delivered at 17:39 on Friday, 17 January 2025, over two days after the orders.

The three packages delivered one day after ordering.

However, it should be emphasised that the retailer still met its last claimed delivery date timeframe.

That being said, the total cost of the Incredible order was by far the most expensive at R504, over double the cost of the cheapest order from Amazon.co.za.

For a comprehensive price comparison, it would be better to combine a basket of items and compare prices, as some stores might be more expensive for one item while being much cheaper for another.

The table below summarises the delivery and price details of the four orders of a Sandisk Ultra Fit 128GB thumb drive.

The colours are used to show the store’s ranking:

  • Green — 1st
  • Yellow — 2nd
  • Orange — 3rd
  • Red — 4th
Amazon.co.zaIncredible MakroTakealot
Item priceR249R429R379R249
Delivery feeFreeR75R50R75
Delivery termsNext-day2-5 business days2 business days2 business days
Collection optionFree Free FreeR35 from pickup points
Collection footprint4,000+ Pargo points75 stores22 stores77 Takealot Pickup points
Total costR249R504R429R324
Time and date of order07:43
14 January
07:36
14 January
07:37
14 January
07:38
14 January
Time and date of delivery14:42
15 January
17:39
17 January
14:38
15 January
11:00
15 January
Time to fulfill delivery30 hours and 59 minutes82 hours and 3 minutes31 hours and 1 minute27 hours and 38 minutes
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