Takealot has partnered with Cape Town-based digital solutions company Touchfoundry to develop a mobile platform aimed at helping its network of personal shoppers manage and grow their businesses.
The platform comprises a dedicated mobile app for personal shoppers and a community manager dashboard, bringing business information and operational processes into a centralised digital environment.
Takealot’s Personal Shopper Programme enables township entrepreneurs to use their established community relationships to help local consumers access online shopping.
A Takealot Personal Shopper helps customers in their community browse, select and purchase products online, assisting them throughout the shopping process.
The initiative allows participants to earn income by assisting customers throughout the purchasing process.
Fezile Nqiwa, head of venture: Personal Shopper Programme at Takealot, says the new platform has improved how participants handle their operations.
"The app has made it much easier for personal shoppers to run their businesses. They can now manage everything in one place," notes Nqiwa.
“The application provides access to information on sales, commissions, targets and progression through programme tiers, allowing participants to monitor their performance and assess their business growth.”
Takealot Personal Shoppers operate independently as commission-earning entrepreneurs rather than conventional Takealot employees.
Takealot previously said it aims to recruit 5 000 personal shoppers by 2028, as part of its efforts to expand e-commerce participation and create economic opportunities in townships.
The development comes as SA’s online retail market continues to expand. According to World Wide Worx, the sector is forecast to reach R159 billion in 2026, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to participate in the country's growing digital economy.
As the programme expanded, Takealot identified the need for technology that could better support participants in overseeing their operations and tracking business performance.
Tall order
Touchfoundry says it developed the platform over six months, covering the process from initial discovery to launch. The project required the company to conduct discovery and development activities in parallel, while delivering within the agreed budget and timeframe.
Fabio Longano, CEO and founder of Touchfoundry, says the project required a different approach to conventional e-commerce development because the technology had to serve entrepreneurs facilitating transactions for other consumers.
"You're not just building a product for someone to shop. You're building technology for someone who is helping other people shop, while running a business themselves. That changes what you have to think about when you design and build the system."
Longano adds the development had to account for differences in users' technical capabilities, alongside the retailer's operational and infrastructure requirements.
"The challenge was to give personal shoppers the functionality they need to manage their businesses through a straightforward mobile experience. We had to make the experience accessible to people with different levels of familiarity with technology, while meeting Takealot's security and integration requirements. The aim was to keep the experience simple for users, while managing the complexity behind the scenes."
The development involved collaboration with Takealot's product, technical, security and compliance teams to ensure the platform met the retailer's requirements.
Digital design company Isoflow supported the project through usability, design and user experience services.
The resulting solution combines elements of a consumer-facing shopping environment with business management functionality, operating within the infrastructure of an established online retailer.
Touchfoundry, established in 2012, describes itself as an artificial intelligence (AI)-native digital solutions partner, combining strategy, customer experience, technology and data to develop digital platforms and applications.
The company says it has delivered more than 100 digital solutions and has worked with Growthpoint, Ninety One, TFG Limited, V&A Waterfront and Woolworths.
Takealot says its wider e-commerce ecosystem supports more than 12 000 small businesses through its Marketplace and creates thousands of jobs across its operations and associated network.
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