South Africa’s largest online marketplace, Takealot.com, has increased the minimum order value required to qualify for free delivery from R650 to R750. Alongside the threshold increase, the retailer has altered its checkout process to automatically select premium, paid delivery options by default, even when an order meets the criteria for free shipping.
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Under the updated checkout interface, Takealot has separated the delivery cost from the selection of delivery dates, placing the fee in a standalone summary box. The platform now automatically pre-selects the earliest available delivery date, such as next-day delivery, which incurs a standard R75 fee. Furthermore, the checkout no longer explicitly marks alternative, later delivery dates as “free.” Instead, the interface highlights potential savings banner ads encouraging shoppers to sign up for its TakealotMore subscription service.
This latest adjustment marks a 67% increase in the minimum free delivery threshold since 2019, when the limit was raised from its long-standing R250 initial fee to R450. Subsequent adjustments pushed the threshold to R500 in August 2022 and R650 in October 2024, before reaching the current R750 mark. Over the same timeframe, Takealot’s standard delivery charge has risen from R60 to R75, up from an original base rate of R35.
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The new R750 threshold puts Takealot’s free delivery requirement 50% higher than rival Amazon, which maintains a R500 minimum spend for free delivery in South Africa. Amazon also offers its Prime subscription for R59 per month, which includes unlimited free deliveries with no minimum spend requirements alongside free same-day and next-day shipping in major metropolitan areas.
Takealot’s operational shift appears designed to push conversion toward its own TakealotMore subscription tiers, which launched in May 2024. The R39-per-month Standard tier provides free standard delivery and collections on orders over R500, while the R99-per-month Premium tier offers unlimited free same-day, next-day, and standard shipping. Takealot did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the checkout revisions and threshold increases.
