20 Aug 2021
A green take on ecommerce
At the start of this decade, the great consumer shift to online shopping was well underway. When COVID-19 shook up traditional retail, this big shift continued at an accelerated pace.
At the start of this decade, the great consumer shift to online shopping was well underway. When COVID-19 shook up traditional retail, this big shift continued at an accelerated pace. In 2020, the Takealot group experienced strong growth across all of its businesses in South Africa, where ecommerce is only now picking up steam. The challenge for this rising industry is making rapid growth mesh with the other big issue of our age: the health of our planet.
The Takealot group is a closely integrated platform of three leading ecommerce and on-demand food delivery businesses continuing to grow and innovate in South Africa. With consumer offerings across general retail, apparel and food delivery, there are multiple opportunities for Takealot to innovate and keep its environmental footprint light.
Thinking inside the box
With touchpoints in three distinct verticals, the group has devised multiple solutions to minimize wasteful packaging at every stage of the journey. For internal shipping between Takealot locations, the company makes use of returnable packaging. Within individual shipments, the wasteful plastic void filler has been replaced with paper. At Superbalist, goods can be packed with an innovative compostable plastic that decomposes within six months. And for consumers, the group has a special project underway that will place packaging recycling points at Takealot pickup points, making it even easier to keep materials out of the landfill.
Logical logistics
The Takealot group is tasked with getting products quickly and conveniently to customers’ doors while keeping emissions low on each mile of their journey. By consolidating freight shipments across the group, Takealot can load containers efficiently, meaning fewer overall shipments. Increasingly, this freight is carried by carbon-efficient sea freight and road transport instead of by air.
Road transport is made more environmentally friendly through a new, fuel-efficient and low carbon emission truck fleet. And using technology to improve logistics planning means that drivers can manage more deliveries per day and fewer kilometres per delivery.
For a cleaner last mile, the group is increasingly turning to electric cars and bikes to get goods – from sneakers to sushi – to customers’ homes.
Powering up
As an ecommerce group, Takelot ensures its energy efficiency by driving down the energy consumption of distribution centres, logistics hubs and offices. In Takealot’s warehouses, traditional lighting has been replaced with energy-efficient LEDs with motion sensors to ensure the facilities are only illuminated when they are in use. The Johannesburg distribution centre will soon go a step further, with solar panels installed to generate electricity for the facility.
With South Africa’s ecommerce market continuing to grow, companies like the Takealot group have an important role in setting the standard for sustainability, within the group and beyond.
About Naspers
Established in 1915, Naspers has transformed itself to become a global consumer internet company and one of the largest technology investors in the world. Through Prosus, the group operates and invests globally in markets with long-term growth potential, building leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich communities. Prosus has its primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam, and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Naspers is the majority owner of Prosus.
In South Africa, Naspers is one of the foremost investors in the technology sector and is committed to building its internet and ecommerce companies. These include Takealot, Mr D Food, Superbalist, Autotrader, Property24 and PayU, in addition to Media24, South Africa’s leading print and digital media business.
Naspers has a primary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (NPN.SJ), a secondary listing on the A2X Exchange (NPN.AJ) in South Africa, and has a level 1 American Depository Receipt (ADR) programme which trades on an over-the-counter basis in the United States of America.
For more information, please visit www.naspers.com.
Naspers Labs
In 2019, Naspers Labs, a youth development programme designed to transform and launch South Africa’s unemployed youth into economic activity, was launched. Naspers Labs focuses on digital skills and training, enabling young people to pursue tech careers.
Response to COVID-19
Naspers contributed R1.5 billion of emergency aid to support the South African government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This contribution consisted of R500 million towards the Solidarity Fund and R1 billion worth of PPE sourced and distributed to South Africa’s front-line healthcare workers. In addition, Naspers contributed R6.9 million to the Nelson Mandela Foundation's EachOne FeedOne programme to support families who COVID-19 has impacted with meals for a year.