US e-commerce giant Amazon launched a consumer service center in South Africa on Thursday that it says will help its independent sellers attract more customers and expand their businesses, while seeking to gain market share.
For Amazon, which is struggling to catch up with market leader Takealot, owned by Naspers, the center can increase its product range, which will increase its potential revenue.
“The most important thing is the variety of products for our customers. We just want to have a lot of products that people can buy,” said Robert Koen, Amazon’s general manager in sub-Saharan Africa, after the launch event.
More than 60% of sales in Amazon stores globally are from independent sellers, the majority of which are small and medium-sized businesses.
We recommend: Companies celebrate the lighting of the Amazon data center in Querétaro
Amazon will guide new local sellers to offer their products
Located at Amazon’s Cape Town headquarters, the center offers local sellers a variety of services, such as on-site registration to sell on Amazon, training, assistance with product imaging and cataloguing, and support logistics and shipping.
The Seattle retailer launched in South Africa in May last year, its first country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Regarding performance during the holiday season, Koen said: “I think the fourth quarter was actually very encouraging. We exceeded all the objectives we had set for ourselves.”
It added that first-time buyers were returning to its online store and had given good feedback about the speed of delivery.
With information from Reuters
Get inspired, discover and share. Follow us and find what you are looking for on our Instagram!
