Takealot Group, which includes South Africa’s biggest e-commerce retailer Takealot.com, is pushing further into townships and growing its new grocery partnership to defend its market share.

Competition is expected to intensify following a report e-commerce giant Amazon.com will launch locally in the coming year.

Takealot CEO Mamongae Mahlare said the group’s delivery network and local appeal would ensure it competed at strength as a homegrown South African business.

The Group will be expanding it’s footprint to far-flung areas as remote as Lusikisiki and all others in between.

E-commerce’s share of South Africa’s total retail sales more than tripled to around 5% from 2019 to 2021, according to Euromonitor International, but it lags behind many developing nations.

Takealot is invested in increasing penetration and take-up of its businesses, including on-demand food delivery Mr D Food which has already expanded into townships and is progressing.

Mr D Food also entered the on-demand fresh grocery sector in partnership with grocery retailer Pick n Pay in August, to cash in on fast-growing demand for buying essentials online, a trend that has been boosted by pandemic lockdowns. 

SOURCE: REUTERS