Amazon South Africa expands into groceries, pet food and health supplements

Amazon has expanded its product offering in South Africa, launching non-perishable groceries, pet food and health supplements in hopes of winning over more customers.

Amazon, which has been selling in South Africa for a year, hopes its expanded offering will make it a one-stop shopping destination. Takealot.com, owned by tech investor Naspers , is the current e-commerce leader in South Africa and it already sells those products.

In a statement on Tuesday, Amazon said the product expansion marked a major milestone for its growth in South Africa, addressing some of the most frequently requested product types.


The new selection includes both international favourites such as Nestle, Red Bull and Starbucks and local brands including Beacon, Simba and Koo, it added.

"Since our launch, we've been listening closely to customer feedback, and groceries, pet supplies and health supplements have consistently been among their top requests," said Robert Koen, Amazon Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.

The initial customer response to the change has been "extremely positive", particularly for the retailer's bulk buying options and multipack savings across all three categories, said Philile Mabolloane, Retail Head for Consumables at Amazon South Africa.