A landmark study released by World Wide Worx, in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments and Ask Afrika, reveals significant growth in South Africa’s online retail sector, which surged to R71 billion in 2023. This remarkable growth represents a 29% increase from 2022, positioning the sector to break the R100 billion mark by 2026.
“The strategic shift towards competitive e-commerce offerings and enhanced customer engagement, including sophisticated AI-driven tools, has fundamentally transformed the retail landscape in South Africa,” said Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of World Wide Worx.
Gabriel Swanepoel, Country Manager of Mastercard South Africa, said: “Our collaboration has streamlined payment processes, making online shopping easier and more secure, thereby increasing consumer confidence and contributing to this growth.”
Rahul Jain, CEO of Peach Payments, stressed the importance of payment solutions in this expansion: “The findings underscore how Peach Payments enabled the proliferation of new payment methods such as Buy Now Pay Later that meet the evolving demands of the consumer.
“In turn, this allows consumers to spend more online with greater confidence. Merchants are utilising our enterprise grade infrastructure to make their financial operations more efficient as they continue to capitalise on this growth.”
Andrea Rademeyer, Founder and Executive Chair of Ask Afrika, said: “As South Africans move more of their spending online, they also become more confident in the medium and increase their individual levels of spending. Most significantly, they are becoming more aware of the increased convenience and choice available online.”