- South African online retail is expected to reach R159-billion in 2026, growing 22.5%.
- Online shopping is set to account for 10% of South Africa’s retail turnover for the first full calendar year.
- Internet access reaches 79.1% of adults, but only 34.2% currently shop online.
- Takealot, Shein and Checkers Sixty60 are the most-used online shopping platforms.
- Delivery costs, payment security, trust and access remain key barriers to wider e-commerce adoption
South Africa’s e-commerce sector is expected to reach a major milestone in 2026, with online shopping accounting for an average 10% of national retail turnover for the first full calendar year.
According to the Online Retail in South Africa 2026 report, South Africans are expected to spend about R159-billion online in 2026, representing estimated annual growth of 22.5% – significantly outpacing the broader retail sector.
The study, produced by World Wide Worx in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Africa, combines 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 during 2025.
The report estimates the online retail market will add about R29-billion in turnover during 2026 – almost as much as the country’s entire online retail market was worth in 2020, when sales totalled about R30.2-billion.
E-commerce reaches a new milestone
The report confirms its previous forecast that online retail sales would reach around R130-billion in 2025 before crossing the 10% retail-share threshold in the first half of 2026.
Gabriel Swanepoel, division president for Africa at Mastercard, said secure digital payments will remain central to the next phase of growth.
“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.”
World Wide Worx managing director and principal analyst Arthur Goldstuck said the milestone had arrived sooner than 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 fulfilment, loyalty, marketplaces and advertising into the same operating system as their stores.”
Profitability becomes the next growth story
The report says online retail’s rapid expansion is increasingly being matched by improved commercial performance.
Among the standout performers:
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Takealot Group recorded its first full-year trading profit 15 years after launch, reporting adjusted earnings before interest and tax of R171-million.
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Checkers Sixty60 grew sales by 34.5% to R25.5-billion in the year to June 2026.
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Pick n Pay Online remained profitable for a second consecutive year while increasing online turnover by 32.7%.
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TFG Africa grew online sales by 49.2%, with digital sales contributing 8.2% of divisional revenue.
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Woolies Dash recorded growth of 19.6% during FY2026.
The report says retailers are increasingly relying on marketplaces, fulfilment services, subscriptions, loyalty programmes and retail media advertising to improve the economics of digital commerce.
Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, said attention has shifted from building online stores to improving customer conversion.
“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.”
Connected, but not yet converted
Despite internet access reaching 79.1% of South African adults, only 34.2% currently shop online, highlighting what the report describes as a significant conversion gap.
Online shopping penetration declined from 36.6% in 2024 to 34.2% in 2025, even as online spending continued to grow. The report says existing online shoppers are purchasing more frequently and across more categories, while adoption remains concentrated among higher-income, urban consumers.
Adults aged 25 to 34 have the highest online shopping penetration at 39.5%. More than 60% of adults in households earning R40 000 or more shop online, while Gauteng remains the country’s leading e-commerce province with penetration of 46.9%.
Shabir Ahmed, Mastercard senior vice president for the Customer Solutions Centre Africa, said connectivity alone is not enough to grow digital commerce.
“Connectivity has placed digital services within reach of most South Africans, but access to the internet does not automatically create access to digital commerce,” he said. “Consumers need payment options they understand and trust, and merchants need tools that work across different devices, income groups and locations. Extending secure digital payments can help turn connectivity into practical economic participation.”
The gap is particularly evident among lower-income consumers. While 70.4% of adults in LSM 3 to 6 have internet access, only 23.9% shop online.
Women also record higher internet access than men – 80.5% compared with 77.6% – but lower online shopping participation at 31.7% versus 36.9%.
Convenience overtakes price
Consumer behaviour is also shifting, with convenience emerging as a stronger motivation than price.
Clothing remains South Africa’s biggest online shopping category, purchased by 36% of online shoppers, followed by groceries at 21.2%.
The report found that 22.8% of respondents cited convenience as their primary reason for shopping online, compared with 16.4% who associated online shopping with saving money and 15.7% who said it helped them find lower prices.
Andrea Rademeyer, CEO and founder of Ask Africa, said growth is increasingly driven by more frequent shopping rather than a larger customer base.
“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 behaviour among current users, alongside the opportunity to bring millions more connected South Africans into the market.”
She added that the participation gap reveals where retailers are still losing potential customers.
“Women have higher internet access than men, yet lower online-shopping penetration, while the gap becomes far wider among lower-income consumers,” she said. “That tells us connectivity alone will not close the divide. Retailers need to understand the practical concerns and circumstances of these consumers before they can expect them to shop online.”
Delivery, trust and subscriptions shape the next phase
The report identifies delivery costs, payment security, data costs and language accessibility as the biggest barriers preventing more connected South Africans from shopping online.
Only 20.7% of online shoppers strongly agree that entering personal details online is safe, while concern about financial-information theft remains the most persistent barrier.
At the same time, payment options continue to diversify. Instant EFT and PayShap were offered by 40.8% of surveyed retailers in 2025, while digital wallets grew by more than 35% year on year. Buy-now-pay-later services continue to gain traction, particularly for purchases between R800 and R8,000.
Competition is also intensifying around subscription services and fulfilment models.
TakealotMORE now accounts for more than 25% of Takealot Group’s gross merchandise value within two years of launch, while Amazon introduced Prime in South Africa in June 2026 at R59 a month. Shoprite’s Xtra Savings Plus subscription offers unlimited deliveries for R99 a month.
The report says retailers are increasingly using store networks as fulfilment hubs to reduce delivery costs and improve convenience, with more than 55% of Mr Price’s online orders collected in stores and Shoprite expanding Sixty60 into selected Shoprite outlets.
Goldstuck said the next wave of growth will depend on converting connected consumers who have yet to become online shoppers.
“South Africa does not have a shortage of connected consumers, but a conversion gap,” he said. “A delivery fee that overwhelms a small basket, a checkout that fails on a basic phone, or an English-only interface can exclude a customer who is already online. The next group of shoppers will be won through collection points, affordable fulfilment, accessible payments and services built for South African conditions.”
You can read the report here.
