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South Africa online retail is forecast to reach R159 billion in 2026 and average 10% of retail turnover, per a World Wide Worx report.
South Africa online retail is expected to reach about R159 billion in 2026. The market is forecast to grow 22.5% year on year. Online shopping is also set to average 10% of national retail turnover for the first full calendar year.
The Online Retail in South Africa 2026 report puts 2026 online spend at roughly R159 billion. The study was produced by World Wide Worx with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Afrika.
The researchers estimate the market will add about R29 billion in turnover in 2026. That increase is close to the entire online retail market size in 2020, when online sales were about R30.2 billion.
The report’s central growth estimate is 22.5%, based on weighting disclosed growth across major platforms by their share of online turnover. This compares with nominal retail growth of about 4% through May 2026.
Profitability is also improving for major e-commerce and delivery operations. Takealot Group reported its first full-year trading profit, with adjusted earnings before interest and tax of R171 million. Checkers Sixty60 grew sales 34.5% to R25.5 billion for the year to June 2026, while Pick n Pay’s online operation stayed profitable for a second year and grew online turnover 32.7%.
On payments performance, the report says infrastructure held up during peak shopping. It cites PayInc processing 934 transactions a minute on Black Friday and 700 a minute on Cyber Monday. Card payments still underpin checkout, but pay-by-bank, instant EFT, digital wallets, and buy-now-pay-later are now meaningful contributors.
Hitting 10% of retail turnover on a like-for-like basis signals that e-commerce is no longer niche in South Africa. For merchants, the next phase is less about attracting traffic and more about conversion, meaning turning visits into completed purchases.
Rahul Jain, CEO and co-founder of Peach Payments, pointed to faster authentication, reliable payment processing, and mobile-friendly checkout as direct drivers of repeat purchases. For payment providers and marketplaces, this puts more weight on trust, fraud controls, and low-friction checkout flows.
Primary Source: mastercard.com
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