Published - Wed, 26-Jun-2024

Top Five Alternatives to Takealot in South Africa

Top Five Alternatives to Takealot in South Africa

Takealot isn't the only online shopping platform in South Africa, but it is indeed the biggest one. However, small businesses in South Africa may feel anxious to wet their feet with Takealot as there are a lot of fees involved. However, Takealot has a few great alternatives. In this article, let's explore five alternatives to Takealot to start selling online in South Africa.

Top Five Alternatives to Takealot in South Africa

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace is a great platform for peer-to-peer sellers. Small businesses dealing with handmade products such as food items, pickles, handicrafts, and accessories can benefit from the Facebook marketplace.

According to a survey on Statista, South Africa expects about 36 million Facebook users by 2026. Another survey from Napoleon Cat in April 2024 concludes that there were 31,774,300 Facebook users in April 2024. With these statistics, Facebook Marketplace opens a new potential to reach new customers online.

Alternatively, you can launch a Facebook Page of your business and start selling your products via the page itself. Once you create a Facebook business page, you can add a shop section for displaying products. Then choose the checkout method. To add products, choose a product catalogue, then shipping and returns. Submit your shop and finish the setup.

Let's talk about this extensively in the next article. Note that the Facebook Marketplace has no features like payment collection or delivery options. So you have to rely on courier services, bank transfers, and the trust between you and your customers.

Gumtree

Gumtree, the most popular Classified Ads website in South Africa, experiences about 3.8 million unique monthly visits. At the time of writing this article, there are 659,495 live ads right now. Small businesses mentioned in the Facebook Marketplace section can also benefit from Gumtree.

On Gumtree, you can push your classified ads for free. If you manage a horde of ads on Gumtree, they also have premium packages to streamline your advertising experience on the platform.

With premium packages, you can promote your stuff over other ads, bump your ad to the top section of the page, and get more views and sales. This is a great platform for online sellers to wet their feet in the competition.

Also, there is no seller protection by Gumtree. However, they expect you to follow certain online safety rules when dealing on their platform.

Bob Shop

Bob Shop, formerly bidorbuy, is an online marketplace in South Africa where you can auction your products. There's also an alternative option to sell your products directly at a fixed price. Product listing on the platform is for free. However, there is a success fee on the products you sell. The success fee ranges between 2.5% to 10% depending on your product category.

On the other hand, you can also open a Bob Shop exclusive storefront to strengthen your brand image on the platform. However, this will attract a monthly cost of R500 and beyond, depending on your options.

Thanks to its auction model, certain items on Bob Shop can certainly fetch higher profits. There are numerous ways to pay on Bob Shop, which is a plus for small businesses.

Makro

Makro is another online e-commerce platform similar to Takealot in South Africa. According to SimilarWeb, the website had 4.7m visits in May 2024. There are certain benefits to using Makro over Takealot, the prime one being not having to deal with a plethora of monthly fees.

While Makro does not have a warehouse storage system, they also take care of order fulfilment for you. Overall, Makro is a great alternative to Takealot for lower-budget options.

Loot

Loot is yet another popular online e-commerce platform in South Africa. Similar to Takealot. Loot features two distinct charges on your selling price and fulfilment fee, based on the product's size and weight. Loot also offers warehouse storage which incurs an additional fee for any overstocked items. However, storage is free for fast-moving items.

All the payments done to you via Loot will be added to your Loot Seller Portal. This balance gets transferred to your bank twice a month. In nature, Loot is similar to Takealot, however the fees lean on the lower side. It is a smaller marketplace compared to Takealot but could be a great start for small businesses with limited options.

Final Words

These are the top five alternatives to Takealot in South Africa. If you have budget issues, Takealot can be taxing to keep up with. These alternatives can help you manage your budget as you grow your brand.

On the other hand, if you are looking to become a Takealot Seller in South Africa, Skill Space has an in-depth course to offer. For a limited time, the course is free and yours to keep! For any questions, feel free to contact us.

Search
Popular categories
Education
15
Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowled
Takealot Seller
9
How to sell on Takealot
Dropshipping
5
All content regarding Dropshipping
Social Media
2
All content regarding Social Media
Entrepreneurship Podcast
1
Welcome to the Entrepreneurship Podcast Series by James Edward Anthony
News
1
News blogs are not just about sharing news. They also include opinion pieces to All categories
Latest blogs
How do I View Returns on Takealot in South Africa?
How do I View Returns on Takealot in South Africa?
Being an online retailer on Takealot is not always going to be a smooth ride. Sometimes, your customers may return their orders for several reasons, and that's okay. However, what's not okay is not understanding why they did so. Because it does not give you room for improvement. In this article, let's see how you can view returns on the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa.View Returns on Takealot in South AfricaIf you are a Takealot Seller, then you can view all returns on the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa. The returns window provides detailed insights on the product details, why the product was returned, and whether or not you can resell it.Let's understand how you can view returns on Takealot in South Africa.Log into your Takealot Seller Account.Then, from the left-hand menu, click on 'Sales' and select 'View Returns'.This will open the 'View Sales' window that displays all the sales within a defined date range and other parameters.You may not be able to manipulate data in this panel, but you can view specific information via keywords, IDs, and date ranges.What information does the View Returns window show?To understand what's going on in the View Returns section, you should understand all the sections/classifications. If you are a seasoned seller, understanding this will be easy as pie for you.We have explained View Returns in Takealot in our video right here. We highly recommend giving it a watch.The section includes the Return Date, RRN, Order ID, Product Title, SKU, TSIN, Return Reason, Quantity, Distribution Centre location, and Evaluation Outcome.The section will look something like this.If you observe the image above, you can see that certain sections have either a search bar or a filter. For example, you can search for a specific returned product with keywords, RRN code, SKU, or TSIN.You may also filter the list according to the reasons for returning the product, Takealot DC information, or evaluation outcome.The evaluation outcome is Takealot deciding whether the product is still sellable. If it is in a sellable condition, the product will be sold as an in-stock item in the future. If it's not, then a removal order will be declared for the returned product.Under the RRN code of each returned product, you will find the 'View Details' button. You can click this button to view all the details of your product, along with the return reasons and submit a dispute against the return (whenever applicable).How do I file a dispute on returned products in Takealot in South Africa?So, you wish to file a dispute against the reasons because you feel it was returned for the wrong reasons. Then it's time to file a dispute.Here's how you can do that.As you already know, you can see the complete information about a returned product from the link under the RRN code.Under Dispute Ticket ID, click on the Log a Ticket link.This should take you to a Google Form. Fill out all the relevant information accurately and submit your ticket.After submitting your ticket, you will receive an ID on your query, which you should save for tracking purposes.You can save that ID by going back to the View Returns page and pasting the Dispute Ticket ID in the block under the full details of the product.Please note that only certain return reasons allow you to file a dispute. Furthermore, you can only file a dispute on a return within 30 days after the collection of the returned item.Alternatively, you may also consider contacting Takealot via their support centre. Make sure you keep your dispute ticket ID at hand.ConclusionAnd that's all about the View Returns window on Takealot in South Africa. It allows you to see all the returns and file any disputes, thus giving you a fair ground in the retail trade.We have a full-fledged Takealot Seller Course that is FREE for a limited time. Head over to the link and take advantage of the offer today!For any queries, feel free to connect with us today.

Thu, 05-Sep-2024
How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?
How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?
Key events, also known as conversions, are important conversion events that define your website's success. Any event can be a key event but you have to mark it as a key event. Depending on your business goals, you may have different key events and they may change over time. In this article, let's take a quick look at how you can create a key event in GA4 in South Africa.Google Analytics 4, Events, and Key EventsA quick word about Google Analytics 4. It is a free-to-use online software that tags and records events on your website and generates analytical reports for your understanding. A GA4 report can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses and enhance your marketing strategy accordingly.Now, as we have seen in our previous article, you have to create events manually to instruct GA4 what it should record. For a complete tutorial, we highly recommend giving the article a read or watching this video for a visual demonstration.Now, let's talk about Key Events. A Key Event is an event you deem important for your business. For example, customers making a payment on your website is important for your revenue projections. Thus, customers making a payment could be a key event for your website.But how do you set up a key event in Google Analytics 4?How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?To create a key event in GA4 in South Africa, you must set up your events first. Links to a complete guide on setting up events are provided above.Now, assuming you already have defined a few events in your GA4 account, it is time to mark them as key events. At least some of them. Let's dive into it!Log into your Google Analytics 4 Account.Next, click on 'Admin' from the left-hand menu. The 'Admin' section lies at the bottom of this menu.On the next window, scroll down to the 'Data Display' section, where you will find your 'Key Events' option. Click on it.Now, you will see a number of events that you have set up already. (Image below)Simply mark the events as 'Key Events' that are important for you.And you're done!Wait, the event I have set up is not on this list...Oh, that may happen sometimes, especially if you have set up a brand new event recently. Fret not, there's a workaround to this.Assuming you're on the 'Key Events' window, click on 'New Key Event' from the top right corner of the list.All you have to do is name your new key event. Make sure the name matches the event that you want to mark as a key event but does not appear in the list.And that's it. Now, every time the event triggers, GA4 will consider this event as your key event and generate reports accordingly. Eventually, this key event will show up under the key event list as well.ConclusionA key event in Google Analytics 4 can help you keep records of the most important events on your business website. It is very simple to create an event or a key event in Google Analytics 4. For more information with a visual demonstration, we highly recommend visiting our YouTube channel. New videos are uploaded every week.Besides that, we are also currently developing a Google Analytics 4 course. To further your knowledge of GA4 and master analytical and marketing skills, head over to our Google Analytics 4 Course. It is still a work in progress, so stay tuned with us!For any queries, feel free to contact us today!

Fri, 30-Aug-2024
How do you View your Sales on Takealot?
How do you View your Sales on Takealot?
Understanding how your sales are performing on Takealot is important for understanding your business's growth. Fortunately, this information is readily available with 100% transparency on Takealot. In this quick article, let's understand how to access and view sales information via the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa.View your Sales on Takealot in South AfricaTo access sales information on your Takealot shop, you need to log into your Takealot Seller Portal account. From there, select the Sales tab from the left-hand side menu and select 'View Sales'.This should open the window that looks something like this.This window lists all your business sales in detail with full transparency on Takealot Seller Fees. Let's understand how you can read and sort data in this window for a better understanding of the sales data.Understanding the View Sales WindowThe Takealot View Sales window sorts the information into the following categories: Order Date, Sale Status, Order ID, Product Title, SKU, TSIN, Quantity, Distribution Center Location, Gross Sales, Total Fees including VAT, Net Sales, and Shipment Details.These categories help you understand the data better. Some of the categories also have special filters which help you sort out the information or search for specific information.For example, under the Order Date, you can set a date range to filter out older sales. Or if you want to find specific products, you can search for keywords in the search bar under the 'Product Title' section.For a full practical demonstration, we highly recommend watching this video. Shipment details are not showing up for some products...The reason for this is that the products have not been delivered yet to your customers. However, if you only see the shipment details missing but the total fees present, then that means you sold an in-stock item. Shipment details along with the total fees only show up when you fulfil an order via the Leadtime Order method.Total Fees details are not showing up...If the Total Fees details are not showing up for any product, that means the product has not been delivered yet; the order has not been fulfilled. Wait for the order fulfilment process to be done and then check back here after some time.Exporting Sales DataYou can also export your sales data via the 'Export Sales Details' button on the top left corner of this window.ConclusionAnd this is how you view the sales on Takealot and understand the data. For a practical demonstration, watch the video above. We have simplified the View Sales window in our video with practical demonstrations.Meanwhile, did you know that our Takealot Seller Course is free for a limited time? It's true. Register an account with us, head over to our Takealot Seller Course, and join today! For any queries or assistance, please feel free to connect with us.

Fri, 30-Aug-2024

 All blogs