After months of teasing and waiting, e-retail giant Amazon has finally announced the launch of Amazon.co.za without much fanfare. While South Africans have long been able to order from Amazon, that often incurred heavy shipping and import tax fees. Not to mention the weeks-long waiting period.
With South Africa now an officially supported region, goods ordered from the local storefront are displayed in ZAR with the promise of same-day and next-day delivery.
What’s in it for us, Amazon?
As part of its Day One launch, Amazon South Africa is offering customers free delivery on their first order. If you move around a lot or would rather fetch your stuff yourself, Amazon SA is also offering deliveries to 3,000 pick-up points around the country which are operated and maintained by local companies like Pargo and Pudo.
Also on the cards are “easy returns and 24/7 customer support.” Amazon says customers will receive status updates on their orders via WhatsApp for easy tracking and that it offers 30-day “hassle-free” returns with home pickup or self-dropoff return options.
“We are excited to launch Amazon.co.za, along with thousands of independent sellers in South Africa. We provide customers with great value, broad selection—including international and local products—and a convenient delivery experience,” said Robert Koen, managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa, Amazon.
As nice as this all sounds, a quick comparison of the local and international pricing for some speciality items reveals that it’s still more affordable to purchase from the US store, at least for now. We’ll be exploring Amazon’s local site in greater depth and also comparing it to local options soon. Stay tuned.
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Made a purchase on Amazon.co.za through their daily deals, only for the purchase to be cancelled 3 hours later because the supplier cancelled. Not great experience for the launch day!?!