South Africa E-commerce Database
Explore 66.6k verified e-commerce stores in the South Africa. Instant access to technologies, contacts, platforms, and market dynamics.
Scanned from 300M+ domains. 134.4k with e-commerce signals. 66.6k verified as active stores.
· · Next full refresh: April 2026
E-commerce Platforms Distribution
WooCommerce leads with 50.1% of stores with physical delivery (32,814 stores) , followed by Shopify (30.0%) and Custom (11.1%) .
Note: This distribution covers only stores selling physical products with active shopping carts and physical product shipping. Digital products, services, and non-transactional sites are excluded. All stores are verified by our proprietary AI model to ensure accurate e-commerce classification.
Top 10 Platforms (Physical Delivery)
32,814 stores
19,668 stores
7,289 stores
2,938 stores
730 stores
561 stores
468 stores
366 stores
365 stores
253 stores
Visual Distribution
| Platform | Stores with Physical Delivery | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 32814 | 50.13% |
| Shopify | 19668 | 30.05% |
| Custom | 7289 | 11.14% |
| Wix eCommerce | 2938 | 4.49% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 730 | 1.12% |
| OpenCart | 561 | 0.86% |
| Magento | 468 | 0.72% |
| BigCommerce | 366 | 0.56% |
| PrestaShop | 365 | 0.56% |
| nopCommerce | 253 | 0.39% |
All Stores Distribution
WooCommerce holds 61.3% share of all South Africa e-commerce stores (79,564) , with Shopify at 16.4% and Custom at 5.6% (March 2026) .
Note: This broader view includes all domains where e-commerce signals were detected, useful for lead generation and competitive analysis. Some may be inactive or non-transactional. For verified active stores, see the default view above.
Top 10 Platforms (All Stores)
79,564 stores
21,219 stores
7,289 stores
12,025 stores
7,192 stores
750 stores
561 stores
417 stores
410 stores
289 stores
Visual Distribution
| Platform | Total Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 79564 | 61.34% |
| Shopify | 21219 | 16.36% |
| Custom | 7289 | 5.62% |
| Wix eCommerce | 12025 | 9.27% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 7192 | 5.54% |
| OpenCart | 750 | 0.58% |
| Magento | 561 | 0.43% |
| BigCommerce | 417 | 0.32% |
| PrestaShop | 410 | 0.32% |
| nopCommerce | 289 | 0.22% |
Categories Distribution
Clothing & Accessories leads with 21.9% of all stores (10,851 stores) , followed by Health & Beauty (20.6%) and Food & Beverages (10.1%) .
Base: 49,554 AI-verified stores with physical delivery and detected product categories (74.4% of all verified stores). Percentages show share of stores within each category.
Top 10 Categories
10,851 stores
10,208 stores
5,026 stores
4,765 stores
2,665 stores
2,347 stores
2,346 stores
2,236 stores
1,916 stores
1,733 stores
Visual Distribution
| Category | Number of Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing & Accessories | 10851 | 21.90% |
| Health & Beauty | 10208 | 20.60% |
| Food & Beverages | 5026 | 10.14% |
| Electronics & Technology | 4765 | 9.62% |
| Furniture & Home Decor | 2665 | 5.38% |
| Jewelry & Watches | 2347 | 4.74% |
| Home & Garden | 2346 | 4.73% |
| Vehicles & Parts | 2236 | 4.51% |
| Sporting Goods & Outdoor Gear | 1916 | 3.87% |
| Arts & Entertainment | 1733 | 3.50% |
| Gifts & Special Occasions | 1387 | 2.80% |
| Tools & Hardware | 1209 | 2.44% |
| Business & Industrial | 1109 | 2.24% |
| Pets & Pet Supplies | 985 | 1.99% |
| Toys & Games | 771 | 1.56% |
Payment Providers Distribution
MasterCard leads with 22.4% among AI-verified physical stores (2,978 stores) , followed by PayPal (17.4%) and American Express (14.0%) .
Base: 8,538 AI-verified physical stores with detectable payment providers (12.8% coverage of all stores). Percentages show share of detected provider instances (stores may use multiple providers).
Detected from checkout/payment scripts and provider tags; off-site/manual payments excluded where undetectable.
Top 10 Payment Providers
2,978 stores
2,318 stores
1,858 stores
1,496 stores
1,089 stores
904 stores
608 stores
606 stores
327 stores
306 stores
Visual Distribution
| Payment Provider | Store Count | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| MasterCard | 2978 | 22.41% |
| PayPal | 2318 | 17.44% |
| American Express | 1858 | 13.98% |
| Stripe Connect | 1496 | 11.26% |
| Bolt | 1089 | 8.19% |
| PayGate | 904 | 6.80% |
| Apple Pay | 608 | 4.57% |
| VISA | 606 | 4.56% |
| Google Pay | 327 | 2.46% |
| BitCoin | 306 | 2.30% |
| Klarna | 265 | 1.99% |
| JCB | 188 | 1.41% |
| PayU | 136 | 1.02% |
| iDEAL | 109 | 0.82% |
| Mollie | 103 | 0.77% |
Shipping Carriers Distribution
The Courier Guy leads with 25.0% among AI-verified physical stores (3,028 stores) , followed by UPS (15.6%) and Pudo (11.5%) .
Base: 8,845 AI-verified physical stores with detectable shipping carriers (13.3% coverage of all stores). Percentages show share of detected carrier instances (stores may use multiple carriers).
Detected from checkout/shipping pages and shipment widgets; cross-border carriers included where visible.
Top 10 Shipping Carriers
Visual Distribution
| Shipping Carrier | Store Count | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Courier Guy | 3028 | 25.04% |
| UPS | 1886 | 15.59% |
| Pudo | 1385 | 11.45% |
| DHL | 1261 | 10.43% |
| FedEx | 940 | 7.77% |
| USPS | 791 | 6.54% |
| Aramex | 726 | 6.00% |
| Fastway | 690 | 5.71% |
| Speedy | 283 | 2.34% |
| PostNL | 242 | 2.00% |
| 4PX | 209 | 1.73% |
| Royal Mail | 176 | 1.46% |
| DPD | 163 | 1.35% |
| Dawn Wing | 163 | 1.35% |
| Hermes | 151 | 1.25% |
Store Launch Timeline
Over the past 12 months, 14,453 new stores were launched in South Africa , with the highest activity in 2026-02 (1,516 stores) , demonstrating ongoing growth in the e-commerce market.
Last 12 Months
1,516 stores launched
1,879 stores launched
1,400 stores launched
1,605 stores launched
1,357 stores launched
1,079 stores launched
1,140 stores launched
998 stores launched
993 stores launched
967 stores launched
752 stores launched
767 stores launched
Monthly Trend
| Month | Stores Launched | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-02 | 1516 | 10.49% |
| 2026-01 | 1879 | 13.00% |
| 2025-12 | 1400 | 9.69% |
| 2025-11 | 1605 | 11.10% |
| 2025-10 | 1357 | 9.39% |
| 2025-09 | 1079 | 7.47% |
| 2025-08 | 1140 | 7.89% |
| 2025-07 | 998 | 6.91% |
| 2025-06 | 993 | 6.87% |
| 2025-05 | 967 | 6.69% |
| 2025-04 | 752 | 5.20% |
| 2025-03 | 767 | 5.31% |
Active Stores by Launch Year
Currently, 65,209 active stores in South Africa are tracked in our database , with the most stores launched in 2026 (3,412 stores still active) . This shows the distribution of currently active stores by their original launch year.
Active Stores by Launch Year
3,412 active stores
12,475 active stores
6,964 active stores
5,230 active stores
4,624 active stores
5,149 active stores
5,116 active stores
3,486 active stores
3,322 active stores
3,305 active stores
1,276 active stores
1,044 active stores
1,003 active stores
1,395 active stores
866 active stores
Distribution by Launch Year
| Launch Year | Active Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3412 | 5.23% |
| 2025 | 12475 | 19.13% |
| 2024 | 6964 | 10.68% |
| 2023 | 5230 | 8.02% |
| 2022 | 4624 | 7.09% |
| 2021 | 5149 | 7.90% |
| 2020 | 5116 | 7.85% |
| 2019 | 3486 | 5.35% |
| 2018 | 3322 | 5.09% |
| 2017 | 3305 | 5.07% |
| 2016 | 1276 | 1.96% |
| 2015 | 1044 | 1.60% |
| 2014 | 1003 | 1.54% |
| 2013 | 1395 | 2.14% |
| 2012 | 866 | 1.33% |
| 2011 | 898 | 1.38% |
| 2010 | 745 | 1.14% |
| 2009 | 740 | 1.13% |
| 2008 | 601 | 0.92% |
| 2007 | 558 | 0.86% |
| 2006 | 507 | 0.78% |
| 2005 | 350 | 0.54% |
| 2004 | 358 | 0.55% |
| 2003 | 376 | 0.58% |
| 2002 | 297 | 0.46% |
| 2001 | 385 | 0.59% |
| 2000 | 291 | 0.45% |
| 1999 | 192 | 0.29% |
| 1998 | 134 | 0.21% |
| 1997 | 74 | 0.11% |
| 1996 | 29 | 0.04% |
| 1995 | 7 | 0.01% |
Featured Stores
A selection of notable and recently launched stores in this segment.
New Stores
Recently launched stores detected by ShopRank in the last full month.
Shopify
Shopify - Electronics & Technology
Shopify - Health & Beauty
WooCommerce - Health & Beauty
WooCommerce - Books & Media
Data Coverage
| Field | Rows count | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Website | 66.6k | 100.00% |
| Emails | 41.0k | 61.56% |
| Phones | 16.6k | 24.86% |
| Ecommerce platform | 66.6k | 100.00% |
| Couriers | 8.8k | 13.27% |
| Payment Providers | 8.5k | 12.81% |
| Categories | 51.6k | 77.45% |
| Social Media | 42.9k | 64.36% |
Coverage reflects detectability from public website analysis. Payment providers and shipping carriers are identified from checkout pages and shipping widgets. Stores using off-site payment flows or custom shipping integrations may not be detected. Actual adoption rates are higher than shown.
Market Intelligence
On-demand market analysis
Self-service access to market data and insights
- Search and segment stores by any criteria
- API integration for automated workflows
- Monthly data refreshes
- Market sizing and segmentation
Strategic Intelligence
Custom research and competitive analysis
Tailored intelligence for strategic decisions
- Custom market reports and analysis
- Competitive landscape monitoring
- Dedicated analyst support
- Flexible licensing and enterprise pricing
Market Intelligence
Understand the South Africa e-commerce landscape:
Analyze 66.6k verified e-commerce stores in South Africa - technology adoption, market share, competitive positioning.
- Track Competitive Shifts
-
Monitor platform migrations, technology adoption, and market share changes across South Africa e-commerce.
- Size Your Addressable Market
-
Segment stores by platform, category, traffic tier, and payment infrastructure to quantify your market opportunity.
- Monitor Adoption Trends
-
Identify which payment providers, shipping carriers, and platforms are gaining or losing traction.
Data Access
- Interactive search and filtering via web app
- REST API for programmatic access and automation
- Monthly data refreshes with historical tracking
Use Cases
- Competitive intelligence and market sizing
- Technology adoption and platform migration analysis
- Sales prospecting and account-based targeting
- Investment research and due diligence
Explore Other Markets
Frequently Asked Questions
- What data is included in the South Africa e-commerce intelligence?
-
We track 66.6k verified South Africa e-commerce stores with 50+ data points per store: e-commerce platform, product counts, categories, payment providers, shipping carriers, estimated traffic, technology stack, and verified business contacts.
- How is the data collected and how often is it updated?
-
We continuously crawl 300M+ domains using proprietary web crawlers, AI classification, and technology fingerprinting. The database is refreshed monthly, so you always work with current market data.
- How do I access the data?
-
Self-service plans give you instant access through our web app and REST API. You can search, filter, and segment stores interactively or integrate programmatically into your workflows. View plans →
- Can I filter by specific segments?
-
Yes. You can segment by country, platform, store size, product category, payment provider, shipping carrier, traffic tier, and more. All filtering is available through both the web app and API.
- Do you offer enterprise or custom licensing?
-
Yes. For large-scale data needs, custom market reports, or dedicated support, contact us to discuss enterprise pricing.
Social Media Usage
Facebook leads with 32.7% among stores with at least one detectable social profile (36,103 stores) , followed by Instagram (30.8%) and YouTube (7.9%) .
Base: 42,882 stores with any detectable social profile (64.4% of all stores). Percentages show share of detected platform instances (stores may use multiple platforms).
Links and embeds detected on public pages; private/hidden profiles not counted.
Top 10 Social Platforms
36,103 stores
34,008 stores
8,763 stores
8,238 stores
7,658 stores
4,949 stores
4,833 stores
3,279 stores
2,471 stores
184 stores
Visual Distribution