Amazon Prime Day sales bypass South Africans

Amazon Prime Day, rivaled only by Black Friday, is one of the best times to snag a bargain – but South Africans can’t join in the shopping frenzy because we don’t have Prime and there’s no word on when, if ever, the US e-commerce giant will launch the service locally.

Amazon is also facing a growing number of complaints about its marketplace operations, which force sellers to match or undercut prices on rival platforms such as Takealot.

Prime Day

For shoppers, this year’s Prime event promised to be the biggest yet, with huge discounts on everything from tech and home goods to beauty products. The two-day shopping extravaganza, exclusive to Prime members, kicked off Tuesday and will last for 48 hours.

Amazon Prime offers more than just fast, free shipping. Members get exclusive access to deals like Prime Day, early access to Lightning Deals, and the ability to try on clothes and accessories before you buy. Entertainment benefits include streaming movies and TV shows with Prime Video, listening to ad-free music with Prime Music, and reading books, magazines, and more with Prime Reading. Prime members also enjoy benefits like unlimited photo storage and food delivery benefits.

During Prime Day, the retailer slashes prices on pricey items like mattresses, laptops, Apple products and other electronics.

An Amazon spokesperson said the Prime service “does not exist” in South Africa and would not comment further.

On the Amazon.com website, the company said this year’s 10th Prime Day event will give Prime members exclusive access to millions of deals in more than 35 categories, including electronics, kitchen equipment, beauty products and apparel.

New offers will appear “every five minutes” throughout the event.

“This year, ahead of the event, Prime members can also request an invite to access invite-only deals — Prime Day exclusives that are expected to sell out — including up to 40% off Sony wireless headphones and up to 30% off Peloton products.”

Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, said in Press Release: “Prime Day is a celebration of the value we offer members all year long. During the event, we offer millions of deals in over 35 product categories, as well as discounts on Amazon devices, premium entertainment, groceries, travel and more.

He said that throughout 2024, “Amazon customers will save nearly $24 billion through deals and coupons, with the vast majority of those savings coming from Prime members, including more than $2.5 billion during Prime Day 2023.”

New on the market

In October last yearAfter years of speculation about the release date, Amazon invited individual and professional sellers to register on its platform ahead of its official launch in South Africa. Sellers will be able to list up to 40 items for a fee of R10 per sale, while professionals will pay a reduced monthly fee of R1 (standard R400) and gain access to advanced tools.

Finally in May he arriveddirectly challenging the current leader, Takealot, which is backed by Naspers. At the time, the company said it was unaffected by competition from Takealot and that it would focus on customers.

Complaints

Just four months later, some South African sellers have already expressed concerns about Amazon’s market practices.

MyBroadband Reports that sellers accused Amazon of pressuring them to align their product prices with those offered on platforms such as Takealot or to undercut them.

This alleged pressure is reportedly manifesting itself in a reduction in product visibility. If a seller’s price on Amazon is higher than their Takealot offer, the “Add to Cart” button can disappear, drastically reducing the product’s visibility and chances of being purchased.

One independent retailer told MyBroadband they were forced to adjust the prices of 10 items to match Takealot’s discounted offers. Another described only regaining control of prices once the Takealot promotion ended.

Amazon admitted that it constantly monitors competitor prices, but Rob Koen, managing director of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa, denies that they force third-party sellers to adjust prices.

He says they set their own prices. “Amazon offers optional tools to help them offer competitive, low prices, including the ability to sign up for alerts when their prices are no longer competitive. Our retail partners are incredibly important to us, and we work hard to help them grow their businesses.

Every day, our global teams work to provide merchants with the strategies, answers, tips, programs, and solutions they need to succeed in our store. If merchants ever have a problem, our merchant support teams are available 24/7 to help via phone, chat, or email.

The accusations could put Amazon in the crosshairs of the Competition Commission.

Last years Market research of online brokerage platforms that was released in Julywas initiated because the Commission suspected that online platforms had market features that could hinder, distort or restrict competition.

The Commission took a firm stance against Takealot’s Market Behaviorespecially in the context of “narrow price parity” which prevents sellers from offering lower prices on their own websites. DM