A decade ago, ecommerce accounted for less than one percent of national retail. By 2023, it had reached 6% of total turnover, with sales of R71bn. In 2024, online retail expanded by 35% to an estimated R96bn, representing 8% of total retail sales. By the end of 2025, online sales surpassed R130bn and approached 10% of the national market.
At the same time, Stats SA reported that overall retail trade grew by just 2.5% during 2024, and 1.6% in June 2025.
According to Online Retail in South Africa 2025, a study conducted by World Wide Worx, in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments, and Ask Afrika, online retail is not simply growing faster; it is fundamentally reshaping the composition of South Africa’s retail economy.
Retailers that treat ecommerce as a digital extension are operating on an outdated model. The leading players have reorganised around digital as the engine of growth.
A decisive phase of transformation
The report describes 2025 as “a decisive phase of transformation,” which is not language used lightly. Based on disclosures from major retailers, online sales are on track to grow by approximately 35% again in 2025. If achieved, ecommerce turnover will reach around R130bn, accounting for 9% to 10% of national retail sales. For the first time in South Africa’s history, nearly one in every R10 spent on retail will be spent online.
This shift was accelerated by the pandemic, but it has now consolidated into mainstream behaviour. Between 2019 and 2021, online retail doubled from roughly R20bn to over R40bn. The habits formed during lockdown have proven durable.
The question is no longer whether ecommerce will grow. It is which retailers will capture that growth.
Grocery shows what scale looks like
The most dramatic proof that ecommerce is now core to retail strategy comes from grocery.
Shoprite’s interim FY2025 results state: “Digital sales through Checkers Sixty60 increased by 47.1% for the half year, cementing our leadership in on-demand grocery.” That growth translated into R18.9 billion in Sixty60 sales.
Pick n Pay reported: “Online sales grew by 60.6%, reflecting strong momentum in our on-demand and scheduled delivery platforms.”
These are not experimental divisions; they are revenue drivers at scale. Grocery ecommerce is no longer about novelty or convenience. It is about logistics execution, fleet expansion, dark stores, and delivery density. Retailers have invested heavily in fulfilment infrastructure because online grocery now materially affects group performance.
If your ecommerce operation cannot support same-day or near-immediate fulfilment in key categories, you are competing on weaker ground.
Fashion and lifestyle platforms are scaling fast
Apparel and homeware retailers are following the same trajectory.
Woolworths reported: “Online sales in Fashion, Beauty and Home grew by 37.2%, while food delivery through Woolies Dash grew by 49.2%.”
The Foschini Group stated: “TFG Africa online sales increased by 40.2% year-on-year, with Bash now contributing materially to group revenue at 12%.”
That 12% contribution from a digital platform is significant. It confirms that ecommerce has moved from peripheral channel to primary growth engine.
Truworths similarly reported: “Online sales increased by 38% and now account for approximately 6% of Truworths Africa’s retail sales.”
Clicks reported that online retail sales increased by 23.0% and contributed 4.4% to retail turnover, up from 3.6% in the prior year.
Across sectors, the pattern is consistent. Digital penetration is rising, contribution to group revenue is increasing, and disclosure of ecommerce performance is now central to financial reporting. Boards are measuring online growth as a material business driver.
Global competition adds pressure and clarity
The entry of Amazon, Shein and Temu has intensified competitive focus. Amazon launched in 2024 with around 150,000 products and expanded into groceries, pet food and health supplements by early 2025. It opened a walk-in seller centre in Cape Town to support SMEs with registration, product imaging and fulfilment services. Analysts describe this as a strategic foothold designed for long-term competitive pressure.
Shein and Temu reached an estimated R7.3 billion in combined turnover by 2024, representing almost 40% of online clothing sales. However, the report notes that regulatory tightening and tax changes are likely to moderate their growth.
Most importantly, domestic retailers have shown resilience. At the start of 2025, the clothing, textiles, footwear and leather subsector added over 10% year-on-year growth in January.
The message is clear. Global entrants raise the competitive bar. They do not remove the opportunity for local players. Retailers that invest in faster delivery, easier returns and trusted payment options maintain strong positioning.
Operational maturity is rising
The retailer survey reinforces this picture of consolidation and competence: 92% of businesses report satisfaction with their payment providers, 74% are currently profitable online, and nearly three quarters expected turnover growth above 40% in 2025.
Cart abandonment is no longer driven primarily by failed transactions. The top drivers are a long or complicated checkout process at 37.3%, shipping fees at 31.3%, and card declines at 27.9%.
For 2026, this signals a new battleground. Infrastructure works, execution and experience determine growth, and integration ease, security and user experience now rank as the most important criteria in payment gateway selection, each rated “very important” by over 91% of respondents.
Ecommerce leaders are no longer solving for stability. They are optimising for speed, friction reduction and conversion.
What this means for ecommerce leaders
The shift to digital is permanent. Retailers who treat ecommerce as a support function will fall behind those who build around it. To compete effectively in this environment, leaders should act on four priorities:
- Invest in fulfilment infrastructure that matches your growth ambition. Delivery speed sets consumer expectations. Logistics density builds defensibility.
- Simplify checkout relentlessly. A shorter checkout flow directly addresses the largest driver of cart abandonment. Friction at payment is revenue leakage.
- Integrate digital and physical seamlessly. Loyalty programmes, collection points and returns processes must operate as one system. The retailers reporting the strongest growth have tied ecommerce into broader ecosystem strategies.
- Measure ecommerce as a core performance metric at board level. When digital contribution becomes a disclosed headline number, it receives strategic focus and capital allocation.
South Africa’s online retail sector is expected to surpass R150 billion by the end of 2026 and capture as much as 12% of national retail turnover. This is a structural rebalancing. Ecommerce is no longer the side hustle of South African retail. It is the engine.