{"id":362320,"date":"2020-08-11T09:59:59","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T07:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=362320"},"modified":"2020-08-11T10:02:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T08:02:54","slug":"takealot-vs-loot-vs-incredible-connection-tech-prices-compared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/it-services\/362320-takealot-vs-loot-vs-incredible-connection-tech-prices-compared.html","title":{"rendered":"Takealot vs Loot vs Incredible Connection – Tech prices compared"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When it comes to buying the latest tech products, South Africans have several online retailers to choose from.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the outlook for physical stores that offer tech products has grown increasingly gloomy in recent months.<\/p>\n

Back in March, Massmart closed<\/strong><\/a> all of its Dion Wired stores following a retrenchment process. The store primarily sold tech items aimed at the high-end market.<\/p>\n

Game, another one of the company’s stores which offers a limited selection of tech, including Bluetooth speakers, smartphones, and laptops, is also set to retrench<\/strong><\/a> up to 1,800 employees as part of a restructuring plan.<\/p>\n

The company has stated, however, that it does not plan to close any stores.<\/p>\n

Online computer hardware retailer Rebel Tech also closed its doors due to the impact of COVID-19 on its business.<\/p>\n

For many other online tech retailers, however, COVID-19 has driven a surge in sales as the lockdown limited consumers’ ability to access physical stores.<\/p>\n

This has been boosted by a need for laptops, routers, peripherals, and other devices which enable work-from-home setups.<\/p>\n

Pricing comparison<\/h3>\n

Online shopping in South Africa is generally dominated by Takealot, although Loot also has a substantial product offering, which includes a variety of tech items.<\/p>\n

The most prominent physical tech-focussed store currently available in South Africa – Incredible Connection – also offers an online ordering and delivery service.<\/p>\n

We’ve compared the pricing of several popular smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables, and gaming consoles available from these retailers to see where tech enthusiasts get the best value for their money.<\/p>\n

For this comparison, we ignored any limited-time sales prices, although general discounts were included.<\/p>\n

The table below provides a breakdown of some of the products we looked at and the pricing for each item at Takealot<\/a><\/strong>, Loot<\/a><\/strong>, and Incredible Connection<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tech price comparison<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Item<\/strong><\/td>\nTakealot<\/strong><\/td>\nLoot<\/strong><\/td>\nIncredible Connection<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Smartphones<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple iPhone SE 64GB (2020)<\/strong><\/td>\nR9,999<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR9,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple iPhone 11 64GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR18,449<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR18,499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max 64GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR26,499<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR25,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy A51<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\nR6,699<\/td>\nR7,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy S10 128GB Dual SIM<\/strong><\/td>\nR14,720<\/td>\nR15,485<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 128GB Dual SIM<\/strong><\/td>\nR25,499<\/td>\nR25,654<\/td>\nR29,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei Y5 Lite 16GB Single SIM<\/strong><\/td>\nR1,949<\/td>\nR1,922<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei Y7 2019 Single SIM<\/strong><\/td>\nR3,199<\/td>\nR2,999<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei P40 Lite 128GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,499<\/td>\n\u00a0R6,399<\/td>\nR6,499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tablets and e-readers<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple iPad 7 10.2-inch Wi-Fi 32GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei MatePad T8 32GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR3,899<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR2,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kindle Paperwhite e-reader<\/strong><\/td>\nR2,999<\/td>\nR3,277<\/td>\nR3,499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lenovo M8 8-inch 32GB<\/strong><\/td>\nR3,499<\/td>\nR3,099<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1-inch LTE 2019<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\nR6,505<\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Laptops<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple 13.3-inch MacBook Pro (Core i5, 512GB storage)<\/strong><\/td>\nR39,999<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR39,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple 13.3-inch MacBook Air (Core i5, 128GB storage)<\/strong><\/td>\nR16,399<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR16,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dell 15.6-inch Inspiron 3593 (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB storage)<\/strong><\/td>\nR10,999<\/td>\nR11,985<\/td>\nR11,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lenovo 15.6-inch Ideapad S145\u00a0 (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB storage)<\/strong><\/td>\nR10,471<\/td>\nR10,850<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Acer 14-inch Swift 7 SF714 (i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB)<\/strong><\/td>\nR24,999<\/td>\nR23,817<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Smartwatches and fitness bands<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apple Watch Series 5 44mm GPS Space Grey<\/strong><\/td>\nR9,699<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR9,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fitbit Inspire HR White and Black<\/strong><\/td>\nR2,489<\/td>\nR2,333<\/td>\nR2,499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fitbit Versa 2 Stone Mist Grey<\/strong><\/td>\nR4,999<\/td>\nR4,641<\/td>\nR4,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Garmin Forerunner 45 GPS<\/strong><\/td>\nR3,989<\/td>\nR4,179<\/td>\nR3,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei GT 2 Classic 42mm Gravel Beige<\/strong><\/td>\nR5,499<\/td>\nR4,443<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Huawei Band 4e<\/strong><\/td>\nR699<\/td>\nR648<\/td>\nR699<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 40mm Black<\/strong><\/td>\nR4,989<\/td>\nR5,426<\/td>\nR5,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy Fit band<\/strong><\/td>\nR1,789<\/td>\nR1,795<\/td>\nR2,299<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Headphones and earbuds<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samsung Galaxy Buds<\/strong><\/td>\nR1,999<\/td>\nR1,979<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gaming Headset<\/strong><\/td>\nR2,735<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR1,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JBL T110 Wireless In-ear headphones<\/strong><\/td>\nR465<\/td>\nR541<\/td>\nR599<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones<\/strong><\/td>\nR7,045<\/td>\nR6,742<\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sony WH-CH510 Wireless On-Ear Headphones<\/strong><\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR739<\/td>\nR699<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VolkanoX Resonance Unplugged TWS Earphones<\/strong><\/td>\nR1,550<\/td>\nR917<\/td>\nR1,299<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bluetooth speakers<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JBL Charge 4 Pink<\/strong><\/td>\nR2,999<\/td>\nR2,999<\/td>\nR3,299<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JBL GO 2<\/strong><\/td>\nR599<\/td>\nR628<\/td>\nR649<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JVC XS-N218B<\/strong><\/td>\nR488<\/td>\nR700<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marshall Woburn II Wht<\/strong><\/td>\nR9,799<\/td>\n–<\/td>\nR9,599<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Volkano Blaster<\/strong><\/td>\nR779<\/td>\nR695<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consoles<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nintendo Switch Lite<\/strong><\/td>\nR4,999<\/td>\nR4,999<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PlayStation 4 500GB bundle<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,599<\/td>\nR6,599<\/td>\nR6,599<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Xbox One S 1TB<\/strong><\/td>\nR6,985<\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\nR6,999<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Findings<\/h3>\n

Our comparison showed that for the majority of products we compared, the price differences between retailers were small.<\/p>\n

In many instances, the price was either the same or differed by a few hundred rand – rarely going beyond R1,000.<\/p>\n

Consumers should, therefore, shop around and compare, as no retailer offered a significant price advantage over the competitors across the board.<\/p>\n

Even though it is the only retailer out of the three which maintains and runs physical outlets, Incredible Connection’s prices competed fairly well with the online-only retailers, even beating them in certain instances.<\/p>\n

Loot lacked certain high-profile products, although it boasted plenty of other devices from lesser-known brands which weren’t contained in this comparison.<\/p>\n

What was evident, however, was that Takealot had the superior range – stocking nearly every product available from either Loot or Incredible Connection.<\/p>\n

Delivery charges<\/h3>\n

Buyers should also carefully consider other elements of the service offerings from each retailer, such as stock availability, delivery times, and charges before making a decision.<\/p>\n

When it comes to delivery, Takealot charges a standard R60 fee for orders under R450.<\/p>\n

Collection at R25 is also an option, with over 50 pick-up points available across the country.<\/p>\n

Orders with a value above R450 qualify for free delivery or collection.<\/p>\n

By comparison, Loot delivery for orders below the value of R350 are charged at R40 in main centres, whereas deliveries to regional areas are charged at R60.<\/p>\n

Collection at Pargo pick-up points is charged at R40.<\/p>\n

Those who choose to buy from Incredible Connection will be able to pick up their device in-store for free or opt for free delivery in 5 to 10 working days.<\/p>\n

Economy and overnight delivery are also available, although the exact pricing for these options is not indicated on Incredible Connection’s Shipping page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now read: How Takealot handles warranties on big-ticket items<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We compared the pricing of several popular smartphones, tablets, laptops, wearables, and gaming consoles available from Takealot, Incredible Connection, and Loot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341042,"featured_media":343475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49317],"tags":[35,2664,32318,10412,995],"class_list":["post-362320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-it-services","tag-headline","tag-incredible-connection","tag-loot","tag-online-shopping","tag-takealot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341042"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362320"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":362828,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362320\/revisions\/362828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}