If you bought your clothes on Shein, ordered dinner via Sixty60, or snagged a deal on Takealot recently, you helped drive a record-breaking R130-billion online spending spree.
E-commerce is officially taking over local retail, but with global players like Amazon flexing their muscle and local brands turning to AI, the real fight for the South African shopper is just getting started.
South Africans spent about R130 billion shopping online in 2025, taking online retail beyond 10% of the country's total retail spending in real terms for the first time.
This is according to the "Online Retail in South Africa 2026" study by World Wide Worx, conducted in partnership with Mastercard and Peach Payments. The research shows that online retail is continuing to grow at a substantially faster rate than traditional retail, with total online spending expected to reach about R159 billion during 2026.
That represents growth of approximately 22.5% over the year.
In nominal terms, based on the actual rand value spent rather than figures adjusted for inflation, online shopping passed the 10% mark of total retail spending during the middle of 2026.
From growth to profitability
The latest figures also point to a change in the online retail market.
Rather than simply pursuing rapid revenue growth, major retailers are increasingly generating profits from their digital operations. Takealot Group recorded its first full-year trading profit, while Pick n Pay's online business remained profitable for a second consecutive year.
Checkers Sixty60 recorded revenue growth of 34.5%, while TFG Africa's online business grew by 49.2%.
The results indicate that online operations are becoming a more established part of the retail businesses of major South African companies.
At the same time, the proportion of adults shopping online declined from 36.6% in 2024 to 34.2% in 2025.
The decline comes against a much larger internet-connected population. Internet access now reaches 79.1% of South African adults, more than twice the proportion who currently shop online.
This leaves a large group of connected consumers who have not yet become online shoppers.
Barriers to online shopping
The research identifies several factors that can prevent internet users from moving into online retail.
Delivery costs and minimum-order requirements can make smaller purchases less economical, while last-mile delivery remains more difficult outside major urban centres.
Payment processes, security concerns, fulfilment, data costs and limited support for South African languages are also identified as barriers.
For retailers seeking to expand their online customer base, the study points to lower-cost fulfilment, collection points, more accessible payment options, lighter digital experiences and greater localisation as ways of addressing these obstacles.
The existing online-shopping market remains concentrated among younger and more affluent consumers.
Among adults aged 25 to 34, online-shopping penetration is 39.5%. More than 60% of adults in households earning R40 000 or more per month shop online.
Penetration reaches 75.4% among the highest socioeconomic level category, while LSM 9 to 10 records 59.4% and among people with post-matric qualifications, penetration is 56.7%.
Gauteng remains the strongest province for online shopping, with penetration of 46.9%. Pretoria, Johannesburg and Greater Soweto are particularly strong markets.
Smartphones lead the way
The way South Africans shop online is also changing.
Smartphones are used by 57.9% of online shoppers, more than twice the level of laptop use. Web browsers remain important, however, exceeding app-based purchasing across most of the categories measured in the study.
Clothing is the largest online retail category, accounting for 36% of online shopping, followed by groceries at 21.2%.
Spending patterns vary considerably. While some consumers make relatively small monthly online purchases, 29% of online shoppers spent R2,001 or more over a six-month period.
The figures reflect a market extending beyond occasional online purchases into a wider range of everyday retail activity.
Takealot takes the lead
Competition between online platforms has also broadened.
Takealot remains the most-used online retail platform, with 35.3% usage, followed by Shein at 21.5% and Checkers Sixty60 at 15%.
Amazon was used by 12.7% of online shoppers before Prime launched in South Africa in June 2026, giving it an established customer base from which to expand its subscription offering.
Leadership varies considerably between categories. Shein leads online clothing, Checkers Sixty60 leads groceries, Takealot leads gifts, while Dis-Chem leads toiletries and cosmetics.
Amazon Prime introduces another dimension to the competition by combining subscriptions with delivery and shopping frequency.
South African retailers retain established store networks, loyalty programmes, fulfilment infrastructure and customer data, while cross-border platforms are increasingly being affected by regulatory changes that are encouraging greater use of local inventory, fulfilment and local merchants.
AI enters the experience
Technology is expected to play a growing role in the next stage of online retail.
Retailers are beginning to deploy artificial intelligence-based shopping assistants and use loyalty data to personalise customer experiences. Retail media, where retailers generate additional revenue from advertising on their platforms, is also becoming an increasingly important part of the business.
Payment systems are developing towards lower-friction authentication and faster account-to-account transactions.
According to Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of World Wide Worx and principal analyst of the study, the focus of South African online retail has consequently moved beyond establishing whether consumers are prepared to shop online.
The next phase involves increasing the frequency and value of purchases among existing online shoppers while bringing more of the country's connected population into the online retail market.
With 79.1% of adults already having internet access but only 34.2% shopping online, the gap between connectivity and online purchasing represents the next significant area of potential growth.
willem.vdputte@nationalmg.co.za