South Africa$$s e$-$commerce giants include Takealot, Makro

and Superbalist. However, they face stiff competition from

prominent international players like Amazon and Shein,

which ship to the country.

Takealot is considered the dominant player in South

$$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.

$$Takealot has an even stronger position in providing online marketplace services to sellers and has

captured the business to consumer market.$$

South Africa$$s e$-$commerce giants could soon face further competition, with Amazon planning to launch

a marketplace in the country.

MyBroadband first reported on Amazon$$s South African marketplace plans in January $2022,$ when the

company was searching for warehouse space in the country.

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.

Codenamed $$Project Fela$,$ the plan included an anticipated launch date in February $2023.$ However,

it delayed the launch due to the tech industry slump.

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.Further confirmation of Amazon$$s plans surfaced in late May $2023,$ when a

document on Amazon$$s Carrier Central webpage showed that the company plans on having at least

one fulfilment centre in Johannesburg and another in Cape Town.

The company has also been hiring in South Africa for marketplace$-$related roles.South Africa$$s

prominent e$-$commerce players are listed below.

Takealot: Naspers$-$owned Takealot officially launched in June $2011$ and has since grown to a

dominant player in South Africa$$s e$-$commerce market.

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 farreaching regions of the country.

It offers free delivery on orders over R$500,$ and the company recently launched a new $1-$hour ondemand delivery service trial in Cape Town$$s northern suburbs.

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.

Makro: 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.

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.

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.

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.

Superbalist: Takealot$-$owned Superbalist was founded in November $2010$ as CityMob.

The online store officially relaunched as Superbalist.com in November $2013,$ focusing on fashion items

and several other products.It offers a range of delivery and collection options, including standard delivery, next$-$day, and same$-$day delivery.

Standard delivery costs R$60$ for orders under R$500,$ while Superbalist will provide standard delivery for free for orders over R$500.$

QUESTION ONE $[30]$

$$South Africa$$s e$-$commerce giants include Takealot, Makro and Superbalist. Hence the level of

competition amongst these companies within the industry is high. Critically analyse Porter$$s five forces in relation to South Africa$$s e$-$commerce giants and discuss what it means for digital marketing.