Ordering tech products through Amazon’s South African marketplace generally offers better value than buying from the US store, according to an analysis by MyBroadband.
Launched on May 7, 2024, Amazon’s South African marketplace is approaching its first anniversary. Initial reactions were mixed, with many users expressing concern about the limited product selection and perceived lack of competitive pricing. Social media echoed these sentiments.
“Their prices are worse than Takealot,” one user commented on X (formerly Twitter). Another stated, “Not the same variety of stock, and prices aren’t competitive.”
Early price comparisons by MyBroadband also revealed cost savings for local purchases.
A central expectation for the South African launch was the availability of Amazon Prime, a subscription service offering expedited delivery and other perks. However, the subscription has yet to be launched. In September 2024, Amazon South Africa’s managing director, Robert Koen, cited ongoing efforts to finalize details before rolling out the service locally. The company has offered no further updates on Prime’s launch, leaving many to speculate when it will finally arrive. It is entirely possible that the local version will be more limited than the offerings in other markets. Despite the delays, some local e-commerce experts remain unconcerned.
Claude Hanan, co-founder of Bash and Superbalist, noted that Amazon’s measured approach mirrors its strategy in other new markets: “I wouldn’t call it a ‘disappointing’ start yet, but rather a considered one. They seem focused on laying a foundation and understanding local dynamics before chasing growth.”
Andy Higgins, co-founder of Bob Group (formerly BidorBuy), echoed this perspective. He said, “This aligns with Amazon’s approach in other markets, where it has also taken time to establish itself. Amazon never set clear expectations for their rollout strategy from their side. Much of the anticipation and subsequent disappointment came from external speculation, including from the media.”
At least concerning tech-based products, Amazon’s South African prices seem competitive. MyBroadband conducted a price comparison of ten tech items available on both Amazon South Africa and Amazon US marketplaces, revealing that the local marketplace consistently offered lower prices.
Significant price differences were found for items like a Samsung SSD, a Samsung smartphone, a Xiaomi projector, and a budget gaming laptop.
- Specifically, the Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB NVMe SSD can be purchased from Amazon.co.za for R1,799, nearly R760 less than the Amazon.com price.
- The greatest proportional difference was seen with the Samsung Galaxy A16 LTE 128GB, where South African residents can save nearly 45% by buying from the local marketplace.
- The Xiaomi Mi Smart Video Projector 2 costs approximately R3,100 less through Amazon.co.za (R10,699) compared to ordering from Amazon’s US store.
- Moreover, a budget gaming PC, the Asus Tuf Gaming A15 gaming laptop with an AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS CPU, Nvidia RTX 2050 4GB GPU, 512GB of SSD storage, and 8GB of DDR5 RAM, is sold on Amazon.co.za for R11,999, significantly lower than the Amazon.com price of R14,165.05.
Here is a comparison of prices for ten commonly available items between the Amazon South Africa and Amazon US marketplaces:
