Why Takealot’s Pick-up Points make so much sense

Takealot opens 30 pick-up points to offer their customers an alternative to home delivery

Earlier this month popular online retail giant Takealot announced the launch of their own Click and Collect network to service Takealot online shoppers with a convenient delivery method by opening 30 of their own pick-up points around the country.

This is a huge milestone for ecommerce and Click and Collect in South Africa. Takealot aligning their delivery and check-out experience with those of major South African ecommerce players like The Foschini Group, Cape Union Mart, OneDayOnly, Wellness Warehouse and HomeChoice proves that online retail in South Africa needs a practical delivery solution tailored for the local market.

Click and Collect delivery is gaining traction in South Africa, following a trend that has been showing up globally. At Pargo we’ve seen consistent growth since 2015 in the percentage of people that prefer Click and Collect to traditional home delivery. In fact over last year’s Black Friday period this percentage had grown to around 20% of all deliveries. When Pargo opened its doors in 2015 as the first ever last-mile company in South Africa offering Click and Collect, the percentage was at 5%.

So why is Click and Collect on the rise?

Over the last 15 years there has been a huge rise of ecommerce in (South) Africa that is fuelled by increased smart phone adoption, internet penetration and a growing middle class. More people than ever order anything, from anywhere, at any time. Logistics however is still the biggest challenge, meaning people either can’t receive their goods, or they don’t trust the current options so refrain from ordering at all.

• Access: Experience has shown that the biggest reason why customers choose collection points over home delivery is access. A large percentage of the South African population live and work in areas that are not easily accessible for couriers. These areas include townships and rural towns. To respond to this need, Pargo has created a network of over 2200 pick-up points, with a store in every town and every suburb in South Africa, including the most remote ones.
• Missed deliveries: People are not at home. Traditional courier services generally deliver during the week between 9am – 5pm. This is impractical as people are at work and don’t necessarily have somebody at home to receive the parcel on their behalf. Besides a large percentage of South African shoppers live in security estates which adds additional challenges to courier delivery. Many South Africans are excluded from receiving online orders at their offices, due to stringent company regulations.
• Cost: Click and Collect delivery is more cost-effective than home delivery as parcels are consolidated at hubs – the pick-up points. As an example, sending 10 parcels to 10 people is more expensive than sending 10 parcels to 1 store.
• Returns: The Click and Collect network offers customers a simple and convenient returns solution without the frustration of waiting for a courier all day. After all 90% of customers check the returns policy of an online retailer before making a purchase.

With Click and Collect on the rise, Pargo is constantly working towards its vision to create access for anybody in Africa. Pargo has recently expanded its Click and Collect network into the neighbouring countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. Additional pick-up points in South Africa’s urban areas, townships and rural areas are on the cards.

With over 2200 pick-up points in Southern Africa, Pargo is well-versed at helping retailers in South Africa with customised Click and Collect solutions, thereby enhancing customer experience while increasing revenue.

We are excited to see where Click and Collect will take us and which unique African challenges it will help us to solve.