In a pop-up notification on its website, DHL Africa stated that it is shutting down its pan-African online retail platform, Africa e-Shop, on 30th October 2021.
The pop-up notification on the eShop website reads – “We are no longer accepting orders and this service will be closed effective October 30th, 2021. All orders in process will be shipped or refunded. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
The DHL Africa eShop, powered by MallforAfrica, was launched in 2019, as a global e-commerce solution provider that enables Africans to access US and UK consumer retail sites and over 8.5 billion items. Through the DHL Africa eShop, consumers in Africa could shop directly from over 200 US and UK-based online retailers, with purchases delivered to their door, by DHL Express or picked up from the warehouse. The platform was developed in partnership with Link Commerce – a division of Mall for Africa.
Insight
According to Africanews, following the success of the DHL Africa eShop (www.Africa-eShop.DHL) app in 11 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, DHL Express announced its expansion to 9 more countries across the continent. By August 2019, the platform had been rolled out to across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, said that they had seen an impressive growth in usage of the DHL Africa eShop app since it was initially brought online in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Malawi, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Uganda in April 2019.
Key Takeaways
- DHL’s Africa eShop offered relatively faster delivery compared to other retail outlets but was seen as expensive by users.
- DHL Africa eShop is shutting down its operations in Africa at the end of this month.
- It is not certain if the company is closing its eShop operations in other regions.