E-COMMERCE

Amazon confirms South African portal launch is now planned for 2024

By our News Team | 2023

Long-awaited and much-delayed unveiling will happen next year, although no date has yet been confirmed.

Global e-commerce giant Amazon has confirmed that the launch of its online shopping service in South Africa will now take place in 2024.

The SA launch has been long-delayed and the source of much speculation. Amazon’s intended Nigerian launch, meanwhile, continues to be on indefinite hold due to difficult market conditions in the West African country.

Photo by Kindel Media via Pexels

Earlier this week, Amazon officially announced that the South African portal will go live next year, but stopped short of giving a specific date.

The announcement also included a call for local businesses keen to sell on the portal to register their interest.

Opportunity to grow their businesses

“We look forward to launching Amazon.co.za in South Africa, providing local sellers, brand owners and entrepreneurs – small and large – the opportunity to grow their business with Amazon, and delivering great value and a convenient shopping experience for customers across South Africa,” said Amazon GM for sub-Saharan Africa, Robert Koen, in a media statement.

The statement added that “the launch of Amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow and scale their businesses while leveraging the innovative capabilities provided by Amazon”.

According to the company, it offers a range of valuable tools, programmes and services to empower sellers and foster their business growth, including hundreds of thousands of hours of free educational content to support sellers at every stage of their journey – including articles, videos, webinars and case studies.

Amazon’s decision to enter the South African market means it is taking on established local players such as Takealot.com, as well as more niche offerings like Superbalist.com, which focuses on clothing, and the e-commerce sites of major retail chains.

Local businesses interested in selling on Amazon can register their interest here.

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