The 10% milestone marks a turning point for South African e-commerce, with retailers now focused on profitable digital sales. (Image source: iStock)
South Africa’s online retail sector is expected to reach R159 billion in sales by the end of 2026, with online retail expected to grow by 22.5%.
This is according to “Online Retail in South Africa 2026”, a study produced by World Wide Worx, in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Africa.
The study draws on retailer financial disclosures through FY2026, Statistics South Africa retail data through mid-2026 and consumer research from Ask Africa’s Target Group Index, based on 23 910 interviews conducted between January and December 2025.
E-commerce sales exceeded the 10% of national retail turnover in June 2026, adding approximately R29 billion to turnover. That increase is almost equivalent to the entire South African online retail market in 2020, when sales totalled about R30.2 billion, the report reveals.
Delivering the research findings during a webinar this morning, Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx and principal analyst on the research, said convenience is the biggest driver of online sales, with consumers shopping more frequently and across more categories as online retail becomes easier to use.
“Retailers are no longer funding digital commerce as a side project. They are building fulfilment, loyalty, marketplaces and advertising into the same operating system as their stores,” Goldstuck explained.
“Secure payments, smartphone-friendly checkout and more reliable delivery are also encouraging consumers to shift more purchases online. Maturity of the online shopping market is another factor. This means that consumers are spending more of their disposable income online.
“Another reason is that consumers are gaining interest with the retailers themselves and theyare becoming more engaged with retailers’ online platforms and digital shopping services themselves.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, author and tech analyst.
According to the report, SA’s retail sector is witnessing a shift beyond simply growing online turnover, with retailers increasingly using marketplaces, fulfilment services, subscriptions, loyalty programmes and advertising to improve the economics of their digital operations.
Takealot remains the most-used online shopping platform, used by 35.3% of online shoppers, followed by Shein at 21.5% and Checkers Sixty60 at 15%.
Amazon was used by 12.7% of online shoppers before the South African launch of Prime in June 2026.
The report identifies subscriptions and delivery economics as important competitive battlegrounds for the coming year.
Amazon Prime costs R59 a month in SA, while Shoprite’s Xtra Savings Plus offers unlimited free deliveries for R99 a month.
TakealotMORE, which costs R39 per month for the standard plan and R99 per month for the premium plan, accounted for more than 25% of Takealot Group’s gross merchandise value within two years of its launch.
Pick n Pay’s online operation was profitable for a second consecutive year, while online turnover increased by 32.7%.
Checkers Sixty60 sales increased by 34.5% to R25.5 billion in the year to June 2026, following growth of 47.7% in the previous year.
TFG Africa’s online sales increased by 49.2% and reached 8.2% of divisional sales, while Woolies Dash grew by 19.6% during FY2026.
“The focus is shifting from growth to profitability. The major change highlighted by the report is that the industry’s key question is no longer simply how fast online sales are growing, but whether retailers can make those sales profitable. The next frontier is profitable e-commerce. Retailers are increasingly being judged on the economics of their online operations rather than turnover growth alone,” Goldstuck commented.
Andrea Rademeyer, CEO and founder of Ask Africa, said the consumer findings explain how online retail can continue growing rapidly even as overall shopping penetration remains relatively stable.
“Established online shoppers are buying more frequently and across more categories.
“Convenience has become a stronger motivation than saving money, or finding lower prices. The growth in turnover therefore reflects a deepening of online shopping behaviour among current users, alongside the opportunity to bring millions more connected South Africans into the market.”
The study applies three measures to the 10% online sales milestone because different retail data series answer different questions.
While online retail temporarily exceeded 10% during the November 2025 Black Friday trading peak, like-for-like current-price measure shows the 10% threshold was reached around June 2026.
Statistics South Africa’s retail sales research at current prices puts the crossing point in the first half of 2026 and the full-year average at 10%.
Goldstuck explained: “South African online retail has grown from less than 1% of retail turnover to a tenth of the market in a decade. So, these are the two big takeaways. Firstly, that online retail has crossed 10% of total retail in South Africa on whichever measure you want to base it: monthly nominal or inflation adjusted. And the new frontier is no longer growth in total of sales but profitability of those sales.”
Gabriel Swanepoel, division president for Africa at Mastercard, noted that secure digital payments will remain central as online retail reaches more consumers and shopping frequency increases.
“Reaching 10% of retail turnover confirms 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.”
Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, pointed out that the commercial focus is increasingly moving towards conversion and repeat purchases.
“South African merchants have already done much of the hard work required to build reliable online operations.
“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.”
Payments infrastructure also performed strongly during the busiest trading period of 2025.
PayInc, SA’s national payments utility, processed an average of 934 transactions a minute on Black Friday and 700 transactions a minute on Cyber Monday.
Although card payments remain the foundation of online commerce, the study says pay-by-bank services, instant electronic transfers, digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later products are now generating meaningful checkout volumes.
