Pargo grows pick up points with 100 client outlets across South Africa

Pargo, the startup setting up parcel pick up points across South Africa, has announced that it will be operating in over 100 outlets.

By partnering with stores like Caltex Freshstop, Vee’s Video, Shell and so on, the startup is trying to overcome one of online shopping’s biggest obstacles in South Africa: infrastructure.

“Optimal parcel delivery is about convenience, speed and reliability,” founder Lars Veul said in a press statement. “Yet South African businesses and their customers frequently face late or missed deliveries. Disruptions at the Post Office have further complicated matters.

Read more: Pargo’s pick up points hope to innovate South Africa’s growing ecommerce

Pargo’s process is rather simple: a customer checks out the product from one of the partnered online stores; choose a pick up point on Google Maps; when it arrives, an email or SMS gets sent to customer; and the parcel can be picked up at a time of his or her choosing. Customers can also return products at these drop off points.

“By giving the option to have parcels delivered and collected at dedicated outlets, Pargo ensures customers will never miss a delivery again — and that delivery costs remain affordable,” Veul added.

Given the fact that most of the client stores are open 24/7, Pargo has found that most ecommerce customers prefer to pick up parcels during the weekend or at night, after work. This customer convenience, and the lack of a reliable postal service, have been some of the reasons why pick up points are becoming more and more popular in South Africa.

To give you an idea of how fast Pargo’s traction has been, when we last chatted to the company in February, it had between 20 client outlets across the country.