, Feb. 2 -- South Africa has an established formal retail market and is one of the most economically advanced nations on the continent. The wealthy upper class and large middle class, continuously improving internet penetration and a nascent affinity to shopping online, all present a potentially lucrative new customer base for Amazon.

In addition, South Africa remains a good launchpad for trading in the rest of Africa, one of the last untapped markets globally for e-commerce retailers.

Despite the Covid-induced boost, the local e-commerce retail market is still in its infancy, with approximately 5% of sales done online. Whether South Africa will attain the same level as the global leaders (i.e. China, Indonesia, UK and South Korea), whe...