The Commission released its Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry report on Monday, 31 July 2023.<\/p>\n
“In e-commerce, the clear market leader is Takealot which has a dominant share of even overall online sales in South Africa, including other e-commerce platforms and direct retailer or manufacturer sales channels,” it said.<\/p>\n
“Takealot has an even stronger position in providing online marketplace services to sellers.”<\/p>\n
The report imposed a range of remedial actions aimed at addressing what the Commission deemed were market distortions caused by Takealot’s dominance in South Africa:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Takealot must remove its “narrow price parity” clause from its contracts.<\/li>\n
- Takealot must segregate its retail division from its marketplace operations.<\/li>\n
- It must prevent its retail services from accessing seller data.<\/li>\n
- It must stop blocking sellers from offering competing products for specific brands.<\/li>\n
- Takealot must implement a 60-day dispute resolution process for marketplace seller complaints on returns and stock loss, which will be deemed resolved in the seller’s favour if not resolved within 60 days.<\/li>\n
- The Buy Box must be redesigned to present the cheapest (regardless of delivery time) and fastest options for the consumer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Takealot fired back<\/a><\/strong> at the Competition Commission, saying it isn’t dominant and that it only has a tiny fraction of the market as it has to compete with far larger brick-and-mortar stores.<\/p>\n
South Africa’s e-commerce giants could soon face further competition, with Amazon planning to launch a marketplace in the country.<\/p>\n
MyBroadband first reported on Amazon’s South African marketplace plans in January 2022, when the company was searching for warehouse space in the country<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The international online retail giant’s plans were confirmed when leaked documents revealed its intentions to expand to five new countries in Africa, South America, and Europe.<\/p>\n
Codenamed “Project Fela”<\/a><\/strong>, the plan included an anticipated launch date in February 2023. However, it delayed the launch due to the tech industry slump.<\/p>\n
If Amazon’s South African marketplace eventually launches in South Africa, the company will reportedly offer its Fulfilment by Amazon service for third-party sellers and Amazon’s Prime membership programme.<\/p>\n
Further confirmation of Amazon’s plans surfaced in late May 2023, when a document on Amazon’s Carrier Central webpage<\/a><\/strong> showed that the company plans on having at least one fulfilment centre in Johannesburg and another in Cape Town.<\/p>\n
The company has also been hiring in South Africa for marketplace-related roles<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
South Africa’s prominent e-commerce players are listed below.<\/p>\n
\nTakealot<\/h2>\n
Naspers-owned Takealot officially launched in June 2011 and has since grown to a dominant player in South Africa’s e-commerce market.<\/p>\n
Its platform makes a wide selection of products, in categories ranging from furniture to TVs and computers, to backup power solutions, and many more, available to South Africans living in far-reaching regions of the country.<\/p>\n
It offers free delivery on orders over R500, and the company recently launched a new 1-hour on-demand delivery service<\/a><\/strong> trial in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.<\/p>\n
Dubbed TakealotNow, the service is available through a section of the Mr D app, and customers can enjoy on-demand delivery up to 22:00. The company plans on expanding the service to new areas soon.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Takealot-Pickup-Point-and-truck_Big-Bird.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: Hanno Labuschagne \/ MyBroadband<\/p><\/div>\n
\nMakro<\/h2>\n
Massmart-owned Makro started offering online shopping in 2014, and the company has been working hard to grow and improve its e-commerce business in recent years.<\/p>\n
This was evident in Massmart’s interim results for the 26 weeks ended 26 June 2022, which revealed a 50% increase in e-commerce sales compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n
To assist with its e-commerce growth, Massmart hired John Sylvester, the former Walmart North America VP for last-mile delivery, to lead its e-commerce team.<\/p>\n
In May 2022, the company said it would be able to radically cut its delivery lead times for online orders thanks to integration with last-mile delivery platform WumDrop.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Makro-truck.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nSuperbalist<\/h2>\n
Takealot-owned Superbalist was founded in November 2010 as CityMob.<\/p>\n
The online store officially relaunched as Superbalist.com in November 2013, focusing on fashion items and several other products.<\/p>\n
It offers a range of delivery and collection options, including standard delivery, next-day, and same-day delivery.<\/p>\n
Standard delivery costs R60 for orders under R500, while Superbalist will provide standard delivery for free for orders over R500.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Superbalist-logo-laptop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBash<\/h2>\n
The Foschini Group-owned Bash launched in February 2023<\/a><\/strong> after beta testing since July 2022.<\/p>\n
Bash was founded to spearhead TFG’s digital transformation and make it one of Africa’s biggest and most profitable e-commerce destinations.<\/p>\n
The online fashion and lifestyle shopping platform offers free delivery for orders over R500, free collection at over 800 collection points across South Africa, and lists over 500 brands.<\/p>\n
Bash supports payment using the TFGMoney, and offers lay-by, shop on account, and buy once-off options for its customers.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Bash-logo-laptop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNow read: Big Short’s Michael Burry ditches entire Alibaba stake<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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