Takealot resumes trade to deliver essentials during lockdown

After President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown, effective from 26 March, Takealot temporarily disabled payment methods for all goods while it worked on removing the ability to purchase non-essentials on the e-commerce platform.

"These have been really trying times in our business with some very difficult operational decisions having to be made and we truly appreciate your understanding and continued support over this time. After carefully reviewing the legislation and looking at what other local retailers are offering we have curated a comprehensive selection of essential items that are now available to purchase on Takealot.com," the retailer said in a statement.

To assist in the prevention of panic buying, the company has imposed stock limitations on certain key products and will be restricting customers to no more than 5 of these items per checkout. "We will continue to monitor buying behaviour and may expand on these key products as the need arises," Takealot said.

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It will not be offering collections or drop-offs at any of the Takealot Pickup Points during this time, including at the Cape Town warehouse, and Cash on Delivery payments won’t be accepted in support of the company's contactless delivery process.

The retailer added that it is ensuring compliance with the recent price gouging legislation and will ensure that its marketplace sellers also comply. "Given the nature of the platform our seller compliance will be retrospective," the company said.

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Reevaluating the meaning of 'essential goods'

Takealot is currently engaging the government to expand the mandate to more than just essential goods. "What happens if your microwave breaks, your modem goes on the fritz, you need chlorine for your pool – there are many such examples," the company said in an earlier press release.

"Given that our platform is conducive to social distancing and from what we see happening elsewhere in the world we will continue to lobby the government to allow us to deliver more than just essential products, as defined, in the weeks to come. We recognise that as the weeks drag on the definition of essential products needs to either be removed or broadened to maintain your mental and physical wellbeing at this very difficult time," Takealot said.