A number of goods made available on e-commerce platforms

MBOMBELA – Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Wednesday, a number of goods were made available to consumers through e-commerce platforms from Thursday May 14.

This announcement was made by the minister of trade, industry and competition, Ebrahim Patel. This means that e-commerce would be expanded beyond what was included in the initial announcement.

The minister said that the re-opened economy has made it possible for directions to be published on the array of goods which will be made available for sale on e-commerce platforms.

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All goods which were prohibited during the level four lockdown, excluding liquor and tobacco, will be available on e-commerce platforms. The trade in liquor and tobacco will be reconsidered when regulations are eased in the future.

The gazetted directions will allow the sale of products through e-commerce platforms that are not available at retail outlets at the moment. These include household appliances, electronic goods, furniture, books, music, gym products, the full range of clothing and footwear products, household utensils and more.

“We strongly believe in the value of e-commerce as a critical enabler to opening the economy through contactless transactions. This can reduce the movement of consumers and the density of shoppers in retail spaces. Further, it can accelerate innovation, support local manufacturing and increase access by the informal market and poorer South Africans,” Patel said yesterday.

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“We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has taken hundreds of thousands of lives across the world. Protecting the lives of workers and consumers is critical as we open up the economy.

“We have consulted with stakeholders to get the proper health and safety protocols in place to allow the full e-commerce supply chain to operate safely while mitigating the risk of it becoming a vector for transmission of the coronavirus,” he added.

The directions outline the need for hygienic workplace conditions, social distancing, the wearing of masks, regular monitoring of workers’ health and the need for sanitisation, among other health protocols.

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To limit the social and economic hardship caused by the pandemic on local industries and enable consumer choice to support local producers, the directions encourage retailers to give prominence to goods manufactured in South Africa.

“e-Commerce has great potential as a safe retail platform during the pandemic. We need to work together with the sector to make digital platforms an avenue which can be used by a greater number of local manufacturers, retailers and consumers to transact.

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“We have consulted with companies in e-commerce, who have committed to give prominence to South African-made goods on their sites. This is an important step in order to limit the social and economic hardship caused by the pandemic on local industries. We encourage all consumers to buy local and support the recovery of South African manufacturing during this global pandemic,” Patel continued.

“Beyond the pandemic, we are likely to see a shift from traditional retailing to e-commerce platforms. We look forward to future engagement with the sector to address how to create more jobs in the sector and retrain workers displaced by the shift to e-commerce and to ensure that there is space for local small businesses and youth-owned enterprises as suppliers of goods and providers of digital platforms and delivery services,” he concluded.

The full directions can be found at:

https://www.thedtic.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/43321_14-5.pdf