Online Shopping in South Africa: Growth to 10% of All Spend by 2026
Online shopping in South Africa is no longer a side show. In 2024, online retail already accounted for about 8% of total retail sales, roughly R96 billion, and is forecast to climb to around R130 billion in 2025 - putting the market on track to breach a 10% share of all retail by January 2026. For founders, brands, and retailers, the next 12–18 months are a once-off window to position for a much more digital, always-on shopper base.
This article unpacks why South African online retail is heading for double‑digit share, which categories and players are driving the surge, and – most importantly, a practical roadmap for startups and SMEs that want to claim their slice of that 10% and beyond.
Key Takeaways
| Question | Answer (Key Insight) |
|---|
| When will online retail in SA likely pass 10% of total retail? | Forecasts from World Wide Worx–backed studies and partners such as Mastercard and Reuters show South African online retail nearing a 10% share by the end of 2025, with the market widely expected to breach the 10% mark around January 2026. For a 15‑year growth context, see 15 years of SA e‑commerce success. |
| How big is the South African online retail market by value? | Online turnover is forecast to reach about R130 billion in 2025, around 10% of total retail, up from a base of R6–7 billion in the mid‑2010s. Earlier forecasts of the sector’s rise are unpacked in this SA e‑tail growth analysis. |
| What should SA startups focus on to win in a 10%+ online world? | Founders should treat the next year as a roadmap phase: get user‑friendly store design, fast checkout, reliable payments and logistics right, and prepare for scale. A detailed design‑first playbook is available in this guide to e‑commerce website design. |
| Is it still a good idea to start an online business in South Africa? | Yes. With online share still under 15% even in 2027 forecasts, there is substantial headroom. Niche players, sustainable brands, and local specialists continue to gain ground. See this perspective on whether starting an e‑commerce business in SA is a good idea. |
| Which early SA players show what works at scale? | Kalahari.net’s journey into what later became Takealot, and purpose‑driven brands like Faithful to Nature, show how data, trust, and clear positioning can shape long‑term success. Explore the Kalahari.net success story and Faithful to Nature’s sustainable growth story. |
| How important is global access and cross‑border trade? | As online matures, cross‑border platforms and partnerships, such as the eBay‑focused MallforAfrica initiative, become important for both importing and exporting. See how this plays out in MallforAfrica’s dedicated eBay site launch. |
| What role does online grocery play in hitting 10%? | On‑demand grocery platforms like Checkers Sixty60 and Woolworths Online are a major growth engine, pulling everyday spend online. Their rivalry is unpacked in this SA grocery market comparison. |
1. Why SA Online Retail Is on Track to Breach 10% by January 2026
Over 15 years, South Africa’s online retail story has moved from experimental to essential. Early pioneers proved the model, but the real inflection has come in the last five years as broadband improved, smartphones became ubiquitous, and digital payments normalised for everyday shoppers.
According to recent forecasts, online retail turnover is expected to reach about R130 billion in 2025, representing around 10% of total retail. That sets up January 2026 not as a hopeful guess, but as a logical breaching point where one in every ten rands spent on retail in South Africa flows through an online checkout.
The growth is not just about more shoppers; it’s about higher frequency and broader baskets. Groceries, fashion, health and beauty, and value retail all show double‑digit online growth, pointing to a structural shift rather than a one‑off spike.
2. Market Size, Growth Rates, and the Road to Double‑Digit Share
To understand the 10% milestone, it helps to look at the growth curve. In 2024, online retail accounted for about 8% of South Africa’s total retail sales, roughly R96 billion, after growing around 35% that year. With online projected to grow at roughly 38% annualised through 2025 – far faster than physical retail – the maths behind the 10% share becomes clear.
Earlier in the 2010s, the entire South African e‑tail sector was valued at only R6–7 billion. Forecasts now talk about online turnover of R130 billion by 2025, and overall e‑commerce market size heading towards R700 billion by 2025 and potentially R1.1 trillion by 2030 when you include broader digital commerce.
| Year | Approx. Online Turnover | Share of Total Retail |
|---|
| Mid‑2010s | R6–7 billion | <1% |
| 2024 | ~R96 billion | ≈8% |
| 2025 (forecast) | ~R130 billion | ≈10% |
| 2027 (forecast) | R150 billion+ (online) | ≈12% |
The trend is unambiguous: online is capturing a larger share of the South African consumer wallet each year, and 10% is a waypoint, not a ceiling.
3. Key Drivers: Mobile, Payments, Logistics and Omnichannel
The shift towards 10%+ online share is underpinned by structural drivers, not just promotional campaigns. Mobile‑first browsing and shopping is central: most South Africans experience online retail on a smartphone, so responsive design, light pages, and simple navigation are non‑negotiable.
Payments have also moved on from a card‑only world. Local gateways, instant EFT, “pay later” options and card tokenisation have reduced friction and increased trust, while on the logistics side, same‑day and next‑day delivery have turned online into a realistic alternative to a quick mall trip for many urban shoppers.
Omnichannel strategies by large retailers, such as click‑and‑collect, store‑returns for online purchases, and app‑only deals – further blur the line between “online” and “offline” and help bring mainstream spend into the online bucket.
4. Category Deep Dive: Groceries, Fashion and Everyday Spend
Some categories matter more than others for pushing the national share of online retail towards 10%. Groceries and on‑demand convenience have emerged as powerful engines: services like Checkers Sixty60 and Woolworths Online have trained consumers to trust digital orders for low‑value, high‑frequency purchases.
Fashion is another story of rapid digital adoption. Global fast‑fashion players like Shein and Temu have grabbed a meaningful chunk of online clothing sales, nearly 40% of online clothing turnover in 2024, about R7.3 billion – pushing local retailers to sharpen pricing, delivery, and returns.
Health, beauty, and value retail are also seeing strong online gains, often off smaller bases but with high growth percentages, which reinforces that South Africa’s move to 10% online share is broad‑based rather than confined to one niche.
Online retail turnover is forecast to reach about R130 billion in 2025, representing around 10% of total South African retail.
5. Competitive Landscape: Takealot, Amazon, Marketplaces and Local Heroes
South Africa’s approach to 10% online share is happening against a backdrop of intensifying competition. Among local online shoppers, around 31.9% reportedly use Takealot, while about 12.3% use Amazon, a gap that reflects Takealot’s long‑term local investment and the importance of domestic understanding.
The story stretches further back to early players like Kalahari.net, whose turnaround and eventual integration helped shape today’s largest marketplaces. These platforms have educated the market on delivery reliability, customer service expectations, and returns, which benefits the entire ecosystem.
At the same time, specialised local brands such as Faithful to Nature (sustainability), niche fashion labels, and focused category stores show that you don’t need marketplace scale to play a meaningful role as online expands.
6. Roadmap to 10%: Designing High‑Converting SA Online Stores
For startups looking to ride the wave towards, and beyond - 10% online share, store design is a practical starting point. South African shoppers consistently highlight three priorities: easily finding what they want, safe and secure payments, and a smooth, fast checkout experience.
A strong online store for the SA market usually includes clear category navigation, a prominent search bar, simple filters, and product pages with crisp imagery and accurate descriptions. Mobile‑first layouts, short forms at checkout, and visible trust signals (secure payment badges, returns policy, support contacts) all help convert first‑time visitors into paying customers.
A practical workflow is to map your categories in a spreadsheet, define a product image standard (for example, 1024x1024px, white background, consistent angles), and build your templates around those conventions so that every new SKU fits seamlessly into the experience.
7. Payment, Infrastructure and Logistics: Building for Reliability
Behind every sale in that 10% online slice is a chain of infrastructure decisions. Local payment gateways such as Yoco, PayFast, and PayPal integrations need to be reliable, low‑friction, and properly integrated into your cart and order management system.
On the infrastructure side, local data‑centre hosting and content delivery approaches help reduce latency for South African users, while caching and efficient images keep bandwidth usage under control – important in a country where data costs still influence browsing habits. Robust uptime also protects you from losing revenue during peak periods, especially around paydays and seasonal spikes.
Logistics remains one of the main cost centres and differentiators. Partnering with reliable carriers, setting clear delivery expectations, and offering options such as door‑to‑door courier and PUDO/locker pickups can significantly reduce friction and build loyalty as more spend shifts online.
Two-thirds of South African digital shoppers say the ability to easily find what they’re looking for is the most important factor online; 61% want safe, secure payments; and 60% prioritise a seamless checkout experience.
8. Case Study: Faithful to Nature and the Power of Purpose
Faithful to Nature is a useful example of how a focused, values‑based model can thrive as online retail heads past 10% share. From the start, the brand built around strict ingredient transparency, eco‑conscious curation, and education about sustainable living rather than simply listing products.
Achieving carbon‑neutral delivery in February 2025 shows how operational decisions can support that positioning and resonate with a fast‑growing segment of environmentally aware consumers. In a crowded marketplace, this kind of clarity can drive both customer loyalty and basket size.
For startups, the lesson isn’t to copy the niche, but to be equally clear about their own edge, whether that’s local sourcing, design, price, community, or problem‑solving - and to embed that in every part of the customer journey.
9. From Startup to Scale: Real South African Store Examples
The rise towards 10% online share is not just driven by the biggest brands; hundreds of smaller South African stores now contribute to the numbers. Fashion labels, homeware shops, food brands, and specialist makers are all using online stores as their primary or complementary sales channels.
Examples include bold streetwear brands, local homeware collections, artisan food producers, and specialist hardware or hobby retailers – many of which run lean operations that are viable precisely because the customer base is increasingly comfortable buying online.
For founders, these examples show that you can start in a narrow niche, refine your offer, and still participate meaningfully in a national trend that is turning tens of billions of rands of spend into digital orders each year.
10. Cross‑Border and Marketplace Expansion as Online Share Grows
As the domestic online market passes 10% of total retail, cross‑border flows become more significant. Initiatives like a dedicated Africa‑focused eBay site via MallforAfrica show one model: giving local shoppers controlled access to global listings while handling payment and logistics complexity in the background.
At the same time, South African brands can use global marketplaces and direct‑to‑consumer sites to sell outward, turning local success into export revenue. This requires operational readiness - from product information and fulfilment to returns handling and customer service across time zones.
The broader point is that a more mature online market doesn’t just reshuffle local spend; it also opens the door to a wider customer base if you design your systems, product data, and logistics with cross‑border in mind.
11. Practical Checklist for SA Startups Targeting the 10%+ Era
To close, here is a concise roadmap for founders and retailers who want to align their online operations with the 10% milestone and subsequent growth:
- Define your niche and value proposition: Know exactly who you serve and why they should choose you over marketplaces or big retailers.
- Invest in user‑centred design: Clear categories, fast search, strong product images, and frictionless checkout are mandatory as online shoppers become more demanding.
- Choose reliable payments and logistics partners: Offer several trusted local payment methods and at least two delivery options to manage cost, speed, and coverage.
- Plan for data and operations: Maintain clean product databases, up‑to‑date stock information, and integrated order management to avoid overselling and customer frustration.
- Use early traction to iterate: Listen to customer feedback, refine packaging, adjust delivery promises, and improve your product mix based on real behaviour.
- Think beyond SA’s borders: If your category has export potential, structure your catalog, fulfilment, and compliance so you can add cross‑border channels when ready.
As online retail moves past 10% and towards forecasts of around 12% of total retail by 2027, the gap between well‑run digital operations and everyone else will widen.
Conclusion
South Africa’s online retail sector is on a clear path to breaching a 10% share of total retail by January 2026, driven by sustained double‑digit growth across groceries, fashion, health and beauty, and value categories. What began as a niche channel is now a central pillar of the country’s retail landscape, supported by better infrastructure, more payment options, and a rapidly maturing consumer base.
For startups and established retailers, the message is clear: going digital is no longer optional. The winners in South Africa’s growing online market will be those who treat eCommerce as a core part of their business, designing thoughtfully for local shoppers, building reliable payment and logistics systems, and planning for cross-border growth. The next 12–24 months are a crucial window to build, refine, and scale your online store before digital takes an even bigger share of the retail market.
Start your online store today - contact us to get set up and grow your business in the fast-moving digital market.
With over 21 years of experience, I specialise in designing and developing custom e-commerce websites and mobile apps for clients seeking to establish an online presence. I assist clients in building tailored e-commerce solutions and provide training on managing the backend, empowering them to run their online businesses independently.
Read more at
Linkedin
