E-commerce in South Africa: Latest Trends and Insights
Exploring South Africa’s E-commerce Boom
Learn more about the e-commerce status in South Africa, the trends for the year ahead, key market players, top platforms for selling, and consumer habits.
Today it is worth pointing out that the e-commerce market in South Africa is quite rapidly developing. It is in 2023 the group achieved a value of R71 billion, an amount that represents 6% of the total retail sales in South Africa.
Forecasting for this to rise to R225 billion by 2027.
This growth is, therefore, as a result of the enhanced use of the internet and new consumer trends. In fact, it becomes possible that indicate the growth, for example, the market share, which should increase from 6% to 10% by 2025.
Key Statistics:
| Year | E-commerce Value (R billion) | Percentage of Retail Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 71 | 6% |
| 2025 | Projected 100+ | 10% |
| 2027 | Projected 225 | Data not available |
But the number one platform by share of new stores opened is WooCommerce, which together accounts for 40 per cent.
According to the annual sales revenue, it can be noted that Takealot.com is the market leader enjoying a sales revenue of US$349.8 million by 2023.
Thirdly, mobile payments, or digital wallets, seem to be coming into play with 60% South African adults using them for security reasons and ease.
The users of e-commerce are 32,55 million while still expecting the users to be 6,38 million by 2024.
But the problems are still there, 40% of the consumers complained mobile buying and selling is hard, 60% of the stores gets 100 visitors per month or less.
In conclusion, South Africa’s e-commerce is progressing in the upward trend on depicting a promising future for newcomers. Business players, consumers in particular stand to benefit from increased growth of the online market according to projections.
