South African e-commerce spend to top $9.9B in 2026

Spending in South Africa’s e-commerce market will grow by an estimated 22.5% in 2026, and the sector has reached a major milestone in its share of national retail turnover.

That is according to theOnline Retail in South Africa 2026report, a study produced by World Wide Worx in partnership withMastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Africa.

The report forecasts that South Africans are expected to spend about R159 billion (US$9.9 billion) online by the end of the year, compared to R130 billion ($8.1 billion) in 2025.

The 2026 uptick will be an additional R29 billion ($1.81 billion) compared to 2025, which is almost as large as South Africa’s entire online retail market in 2020, when sales totaled about R30.2 billion ($1.89 billion).

Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx and principal analyst on the research, said the milestone had been reached earlier than the previous report anticipated.

“South African online retail has grown from less than 1% of retail turnover to a tenth of the market in a decade,” he said.

“It is adding almost the value of the entire 2020 online market in a single year, and several major operations are now profitable. Retailers are no longer funding digital commerce as a side project. They are building fulfillment, loyalty, marketplaces and advertising into the same operating system as their stores,” Goldstuck added.

The study draws on retailer financial disclosures through the 2025/2026 financial year, Statistics South Africa retail data through to mid-2026 and consumer research from Ask Africa’s Target Group Index, based on 23,910 interviews conducted from January to December 2025.

It also drew on a targeted survey of 1,400 online shoppers and telephonic interviews with 201 retailers, conducted by World Wide Worx.

Online shopping outpaces traditional retail

The report highlighted that online retail continues to grow several times faster than South Africa’s wider retail sector.

The 2026 estimate weights each major retail platform’s disclosed growth according to its contribution to online turnover.

The result is an estimated 22.5% increase in online sales in 2026, compared with growth of about 4% across the retail sector as a whole in the first five months of the year.

Gabriel Swanepoel, division president for Africa at Mastercard, said secure digital payments would remain central as online retail extends to more consumers and more frequent purchases.

“Reaching 10% of retail turnover confirms that digital commerce has become part of everyday trade in South Africa,” he said.

“The next gains will depend on giving consumers payment choices that are secure, simple and accessible, while helping merchants reduce friction at checkout. As the market expands, every successful transaction strengthens trust and makes it easier for more people and businesses to participate in the digital economy,” Swanepoel added.

Shopper demographics

In 2025, 36% of online shoppers purchased clothing while 21.2% shopped for groceries online.

Around 29% of consumers spent more than R2,000 ($125) online over a 6-month period, compared to 23.4% the year before, and almost 10% had spent over $125 in the past month.

The report found that the strongest existing online-shopping segments remain younger and more affluent.

Adults aged 25 to 34 recorded 39.5% penetration, while more than 60% of adults in households earning R40,000 ($2,500) or more shop online.

How South African’s get online is also interesting. Almost 58% of those surveyed said they shopped% said they shopped

Almost 45% of consumers said they shopped on local platforms monthly and 29.6% shopped weekly.

Andrea Rademeyer, CEO and founder of Ask Africa, said the consumer findings help explain how online retail can grow rapidly while shopping penetration remains relatively stable.

“Established online shoppers are buying more frequently and across more categories,” she said.

“Convenience has become a stronger motivation than saving money or finding lower prices. The growth in turnover therefore reflects a deepening of online shopping behavior among current users, alongside the opportunity to bring millions more connected South Africans into the market,” Rademeyer added.

Local vs. international retailers

Competition has broadened in the market with the arrival of players likeAmazonand Chinese platforms like Shein andTemu.

However, South African retailer Takealot remains the platform to beat, used by 35.3% of online shoppers.

Shein follows at 21.5% and local grocery retailer Checkers Sixty60 at 15%.

Amazon was used by 12.7% of online shoppers before the South African launch of Prime in June 2026.

Below the leaders, the report found that competition becomes crowded, with several platforms packed into the 10.4% to 13.6% range.

“Takealot’s lead remains large, but the middle of the market is becoming more contestable,” it said.

Category leadership is also more fragmented – Shein leads clothing, Checkers Sixty60 leads groceries, Takealot leads gifts and pharmacy chain Dis-Chem leads toiletries and cosmetics.

“No single platform owns every shopping mission. Consumers appear willing to use different retailers for different needs, leaving room for specialists alongside broad marketplaces,” the report said.

Retailers reap benefits of online shopping

The overall growth in the e-commerce market is accompanied by stronger commercial results for local retailers.

Takealot Group recorded its first full-year trading profit 15 years after launch, reporting adjusted earnings before interest and tax of R171 million ($10.7 million).

Pick n Pay’s online operation was profitable for a second consecutive year, while its online turnover increased by 32.7%.

Checkers Sixty60 sales soared 34.5% to R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in the year to June 2026, following growth of 47.7% in the previous year.

Fashion retailer The Foschini Group (TFG) Africa’s online sales grew 49.2% and reached 8.2% of divisional sales, while Woolworth’s grocery delivery service, Woolies Dash, grew 19.6% across its last financial year.

World Wide Worx said that these figures show that the sector’s progress is no longer confined to rapid turnover growth.

Retailers are using marketplaces, fulfillment services, subscriptions, loyalty programs and advertising to improve the economics of digital operations.

Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, said the commercial focus had moved towards conversion and repeat use.

“South African merchants have already done much of the hard work required to build reliable online operations,” he said.

“Their focus now is on converting more visits into completed purchases and earning repeat business. Fast authentication, dependable payment processing and a checkout that works well on a smartphone can have a direct effect on revenue. The best payment experience is one that removes effort while preserving security,” Jain added.

The report found that payments infrastructure performed reliably during the busiest trading period of 2025.

PayInc, South Africa’s national payments utility, processed an average of 934 transactions a minute on Black Friday 2025 and 700 a minute on Cyber Monday.

Card payments remain the base of online commerce, but pay-by-bank services, instant electronic transfers, digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later products now also carry meaningful checkout volume, the report found.