At the end of 2021 it is expected that South Africa's online retail sales will total R42bn. With the vaccine rollout and a return to business-as-usual on the horizon, 76% of merchants are feeling positive about the year ahead.

The Heavy Chef Ecommerce Entrepreneur Education Report reveals that the growth of ecommerce in South Africa has been accelerated by five years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Interestingly, it is women leading the charge.

PayU, an emerging market fintech, reveals that everything from the late-night shopping frenzy, to payment methods, to basket size has changed when it comes to Black Friday.

Over the last two years, the retail landscape has changed immeasurably. Behaviours and technologies that seemed like they were a decade away from coming to fruition are now normal.

Johan Rupert-owned luxury brand Richemont is creating a neutral, industry-wide platform, built on the latest omni-channel retail technologies, to support the digitisation of the luxury industry.

Some of the Black Friday transactions tallied so far point to improved performance from last year.

While 2020 was a far-from-normal year, it's important to recognise that retail formats and experiences have become the new stock.

Vodacom has signed partnership deals with online merchant OneDayOnly, on-demand truck hire app Droppa and fast food franchise KFC to add their apps to the VodaPay Super App, as more local businesses join the telco’s "digital mall".

Following the success of Bolt Food in Cape Town, the service has now expanded to Johannesburg, offering the city's residents access to food deliveries from more than 300 restaurants and fast-food outlets.

Retail giant Pick n Pay says it has seen a strong increase in ecommerce sales, with its on-demand grocery delivery mobile app Asap! recording 200% growth in sales since it relaunched in August.