South African Online Retailer ‘Takealot’ Establishes Multiple Pickup Points

South Africa’s online retailer, Takealot.com recently launched about 25 collection facilities within South Africa. They opened pickup points in Midrand to let customers pick up and drop off their orders instead of waiting for a dispatch.

The SA-based retailer set up a pickup point at the N1 bridge between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The N1 bridge, which initially housed a restaurant that has been closed for some years, is the busiest highway in Africa. Takealot is leveraging on the location of the N1 bridge to create a seamless means for motorists travelling in both directions to pick up their orders.

The Takealot N1 bridge Midrand Pickup Point will use technology, automation and a spiral conveyor belt to enable shoppers pick up faster than usual. The company expects to divert about 10% of its Johannesburg-area collections to Takealot and Superbalist.

Some Facts and Figures About the Takealot Pickup Points:

At 1 177m2, the Midrand facility is the biggest Takealot Pickup Point in SA
Initially, 1200 orders are expected to be collected a day
Takealot currently peaks at 4 000 orders collected per day from the Cape Town Warehouse
The Midrand (N1 Bridge) Pickup Point is designed to support over 7000 collections a day for Takealot and Superbalist collectively
The Midrand collection facility employs 20+ people
Takealot now has over 25 Takealot Pickup Points operating nationwide, servicing both themselves and Superbalist.

About the in-house Takealot delivery team:

Both Takealot and Superbalist are serviced by the group’s in-house delivery team called the Takealot Delivery Team

The Takealot Delivery Team delivers over 1 400 000 orders per month

This new development will allow Takealot customers choose from a number of Pickup Points across the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.