Amazon, a U.S. online retailer, announced on Tuesday that it would introduce its online shopping service in South Africa in 2024, taking on TakeAlot from Naspers, a company that now dominates the sector.
Beginning on Tuesday, independent merchants in South Africa will be able to register their businesses on the marketplace platform, according to the online retail behemoth.
The launch of Amazon’s service coincides with a strong increase in online sales in South Africa as a result of the pandemic, which gave e-commerce the chance to finally take off and significantly boost traditional sales.
The online platform will give “local sellers, brand owners, and entrepreneurs… the opportunity to grow their business with Amazon,” according to a statement from Robert Koen, general manager of Amazon’s Sub-Saharan Africa area.
Moreover, In order to provide broadband-from-space services in India, US tech giant Amazon has applied for authorization from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe).
Amazon is the newest player in India’s young but rapidly expanding satellite communications sector, where it will likely face competition from companies like Elon Musk‘s Starlink, Bharti’s Oneweb, and Reliance Industries’ Jio Satellite.
Additionally, the business is anticipated to submit an application to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for a licence for global mobile personal communication via satellite (GMPCS). While Oneweb and Jio Satellite have obtained the licence, an inter-ministerial panel is anticipated to consider Starlink’s proposal this week.
Earlier this year, India launched a new space policy designed to encourage private sector involvement in the industry. The policy has given the autonomous central regulatory body IN-SPACe the authority to serve as the only single-window agency for approving space activities by both public and private satcom companies. After obtaining IN-SPACe clearance, the policy allows foreign businesses to install infrastructure and provide satellite services.
Customers between the ages of 11 and 26 are overwhelmingly adopting online purchasing, a top executive from the e-commerce company Amazon noted in a previously published article.
Saurabh Srivastava, vice president of Amazon Fashion India, stated that the company is observing a trend of buyers across categories going toward premium products. He was speaking on the sidelines of the “Amazon Xperience Arena.” A business division of Amazon India is Amazon Fashion.
According to estimates, ecommerce businesses made a total of almost Rs 40,000 crore during the first round of the holiday shopping season.
