Online shopping deliveries under siege in South Africa

Hijackers working in organised criminal syndicates are increasingly targeting couriers delivering online orders in South Africa, and customers are among those paying the price for this crime.

Online shopping has seen explosive growth in South Africa over the past few years.

While unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns initially drove increased e-commerce adoption, online shopping has become a more regular activity for many South Africans in recent years.

A report by World Wide Worx showed that the value of retail e-commerce transactions in South Africa jumped 29% between 2022 and 2023, reaching R71 billion.

That came on the back of a 35% surge between 2021 and 2022.

The firm forecast the value would climb to over R100 billion by 2026, buoyed by local growth for major international retailers like Amazon.

The increased e-commerce activity means couriers and logistics companies are carrying more goods on South African roads than ever before.

This activity has caught the attention of criminals, who have more opportunities to make off with high-value goods they can sell on the black market.

SkyNet Worldwide Express commercial executive Diederick Stopforth recently told the Sunday Times that about 20 to 25 delivery trucks and vans were hijacked every day.

That is a substantial increase from roughly four courier hijackings per day reported in South African Police Service crime statistics in the first quarter of 2021.

According to Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly, road freight carriers recorded about 65 hijacking and other crime incidents per day in June 2024, compared with 20 per day a year earlier.

Kelly explained that the hijackings were the work of well-organised syndicates, which were often highly skilled and dangerous.

Tracker’s Vehicle Crime Index has also revealed that in around 80% of the hijacking reports of business-owned vehicles it received, criminals had made off with fast-moving goods typically delivered by couriers.

Parcel delivery van drivers and food delivery couriers on motorcycles are among the most common victims of the syndicates.

Many of those working as delivery personnel are not trained on the security risks of the job, which makes them soft targets.

In addition, a common modus operandi is for criminals to trick courier drivers with fake orders and lure them to a location for hijacking or robbing.

If the criminals use affluent suburbs where on-demand deliveries are frequent, it is nearly impossible for drivers to identify the danger before it is too late.

Consumers paying the price

Online shoppers are often refunded for goods lost or stolen in transit.

In the better-case scenario, where a courier is unharmed after a hijacking or theft, the company must arrange another delivery, increasing the cost and time it takes for orders to arrive.

While that additional delivery might be free, shoppers are still paying the price for the inherent security risk that comes with fulfilling their orders.

Courier Guy CEO Craig Pitchers has told BusinessTech that rising security costs to protect delivery people and vehicles from the syndicates were killing courier margins.

Pitchers said the high expenses were making it difficult for couriers to be profitable in a hostile environment.

FarEye chief executive Kushal Nahata has told Rapport that the increased security costs had resulted in South Africa’s delivery fulfilment costs being between 50% and 100% higher than the global average.

With the rising costs, couriers have little choice but to increase their delivery fees to keep their businesses viable.

FarEye brought together some of the country’s top retailers — including Clicks, Massmart, Pepkor, Pick n Pay, and Woolworths — to discuss the industry’s challenges during an event last week.

Nahata said that retailers, industry regulators, and government would need to work together to solve the safety problem.

Other major cost drivers include rising transport fuel expenditure and declining road infrastructure, which can increase vehicle breakdowns and repair work.