The serious crime doubling your online shopping delivery fee in South Africa

E-commerce activity has exploded in the country in recent years. According to World Wide Worx’s latest Online Retail Report, local e-commerce turnover is expected to reach R130 billion in 2025.

That is 35% higher than in 2024 and 330% greater than in 2020, the year that boosted the industry as many people were forced to shop online during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

With the surge in e-commerce shopping, courier activity has also picked up. This trend has created more opportunities for criminals to make off with valuable goods.

The South Africa Express Parcel Association (Saepa), which represents many of the industry’s largest courier companies, has been warning about the issue as far back as 2021.

Saepa CEO Garry Marshall was particularly concerned about the violence that accompanied these incidents, with criminals increasingly taking a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach.

He called for a type of joint task force between business and government to try and eradicate the problem.

By September 2024, last-mile logistics technology company FarEye said that as many as 25 couriers were hijacked in South Africa every day.

While the South African Police Service (Saps) latest crime statistics show a slight decline in truck hijackings in recent quarters, this does not reflect the full picture.

Like with many other crimes, courier hijacking, robberies, and theft often go unreported due to a lack of faith and trust in police capabilities.

In addition, the relevant crime categories do not specifically define what type of victims were targeted. Therefore, although there may be an overall decline, there may be an increase when only counting crimes against couriers.

Tracker’s Vehicle Crime Index for the fourth quarter of 2024 found that hijackers are increasingly shifting their focus from personal to fleet or business vehicles because of these goods.

“These crimes often happen opportunistically when the vehicle is stopped along its route, for example, at a truck stop or in a driveway during a delivery,” Tracker said.

Takealot worried, taking action

In recent feedback, Takealot Fulfilment Solutions told MyBroadband that it was deeply concerned about the safety of its driver partners who were facing armed robberies and theft while carrying out deliveries.

“These incidents remain a serious challenge for the logistics sector in South Africa and have a direct impact on driver partners, businesses, and customers alike,” Takealot said.

The largest courier service in the country said the wellbeing and protection of its driver partners were its foremost priority and it continued to invest in security measures to safeguard delivery teams and the shoppers’ goods.

“While we cannot disclose specific operational details for safety reasons, we are committed to strengthening our systems and processes to support driver partner security,” Takealot said.

In addition to potentially resulting in physical and emotional harm to couriers and delivery drivers, crimes against couriers raise the cost of delivery services.

Logistics operators and couriers must invest more in security, which can include escort vehicles, camera systems, vehicle tracking systems, control centres, helicopters, and follow-up vehicles.

In addition, the crime pushes up insurance premiums for delivery vehicles. The additional security and insurance fees ultimately force the companies to raise customer prices.

FarEye estimates that this factor has pushed the cost of last-mile deliveries from warehouses to homes to between 50% and 100% higher in South Africa than the global average.

Takealot said that greater cooperation between law enforcement, industry platforms, and the private sector was essential to reducing these incidents and improving safety outcomes on the ground.

Issued on MyBroadband by Hanno Labuschagne | https://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/611720-the-serious-crime-doubling-your-online-shopping-delivery-fee-in-south-africa.html