DOING BETTER + REACHING HIGHER: DELIVERY

We are still reeling from the excitement of launching our first A/W ‘21 collection! Every purchase means so much to us and goes a long way in keeping this small business’ fire burning.

We are filled with gratitude and pride for the strides we’ve made in our business. However, we still face a number of challenges in making MARU the brand we envision it to be. One of the most glaring challenges faced not only by us, but by the industry as a whole, is Africa’s stunted e-commerce and logistics industry.

As we’re solely an online store, we have had to grapple with the reality that customers on the continent have been wary of shopping solely online. There are a number of reasons for this, including high cost of internet usage, insecure online shopping as well as the challenges faced in delivery.

Some delivery challenges include the cost and ease in the delivery of online purchases. As a start up business, restrictive processes rule us out of being eligible for discounted delivery rates through major couriers and to a greater extent, smaller couriers (who we prefer working with, as our efforts towards symbiotically working with smaller businesses is core to MARUs manifesto).

We want nothing more than to make shopping with MARU a pleasurable experience from beginning to end, so please don’t abandon your carts at the sight of the delivery cost just yet! We have been working hard to try and find the best way around these challenges. We’ve managed to work with DHL, as well as cover half the rates for you all. Thankfully we’ve arrived at -75% less common rates. So, we are happy to announce new delivery rates! Our delivery rates are flat, which means that delivery would have one set cost, no matter how many items you order, per order.

Here they are:

Zone + Country	Delivery time	Cost (BWP)	Cost (USD)	Cost (EUR)
Botswana	1-2 days	FREE
South Africa	1-2 days	P50	$ 5	€4
Zone 1: Eswatini, Lesotho	1-2 days	P140	$ 13	€11
Zone 2: Namibia, Zimbabwe	1-2 days	P160	$ 15	€12
Zone 3: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia	2-4 days	P170	$ 16	€13
Zone 4: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Rep, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote D Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Rep., Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Equatorial, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Island Of, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome And Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Somaliland, Rep Of, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda	2-4 days	P220	$ 20	€17
Zone 5: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Rep., The, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Ireland, Rep. Of , Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City	2-4 days	P240	$ 22	€19
Zone 6: USA	3-5 days	P260	$ 24	€20
Zone 7: Andorra, Andorra, Dominican Rep., Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Trinidad And Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates	2-6 days	P300	$ 28	€23
Zone 8: Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Rep. Of, Macau SAR China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, The, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam	3-6 days	P350	$ 32	€27
Zone 9: Afghanistan, Albania, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canary Islands, The, Cayman Islands. Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Guyana, Georgia, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Korea, D.P.R Of, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Micronesia, Moldova, Rep. Of, Mongolia, Montenegro, Rep Of, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nauru, Rep. Of, Nevis, Nicaragua, Niue, North Macedonia, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Rep. Of , Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Suriname, Syria, Tahiti, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Virgin Islands-British, Virgin Islands-US, Yemen, Rep. Of	3-6 days	P440	$ 40	€34
Zone 10: Rest of the world	5-8 days	P440	$ 40	€34

We really wanted to ensure there were no long waiting times with delivery, and so DHL became our choice courier. We also wanted to keep the option of using your own courier if it suits you better - so please feel free to get in touch with us before you place your order, if you have a courier you prefer to use and we’d be happy to send your order with them.

As we have a fast growing community of MARU mavens in South Africa, we are currently working at creating a hub in Johannesburg and with this, we have been able to carry customs duties and offer delivery at a much lower rate! Yay!

We are wholly committed to continue playing a role in the growth and viability of the African e-commerce industry and our MARU mavens are at the propel this drive!