South Africa E-commerce Database
Explore 71.4k verified e-commerce stores in the South Africa. Instant access to technologies, contacts, platforms, and market dynamics.
Scanned from 300M+ domains. 140.1k with e-commerce signals. 71.4k verified as active stores.
· · Next full refresh: May 2026
E-commerce Platforms Distribution
WooCommerce leads with 51.8% of stores with physical delivery (35,791 stores) , followed by Shopify (27.1%) and Custom (12.4%) .
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)
35,791 stores
18,714 stores
8,536 stores
2,850 stores
1,051 stores
579 stores
457 stores
370 stores
362 stores
321 stores
Visual Distribution
| Platform | Stores with Physical Delivery | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 35791 | 51.85% |
| Shopify | 18714 | 27.11% |
| Custom | 8536 | 12.37% |
| Wix eCommerce | 2850 | 4.13% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 1051 | 1.52% |
| OpenCart | 579 | 0.84% |
| Magento | 457 | 0.66% |
| PrestaShop | 370 | 0.54% |
| BigCommerce | 362 | 0.52% |
| GoDaddy Online Store | 321 | 0.47% |
All Stores Distribution
WooCommerce holds 62.2% share of all South Africa e-commerce stores (83,083) , with Shopify at 15.3% and Custom at 6.4% (April 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)
83,083 stores
20,389 stores
8,536 stores
11,519 stores
7,100 stores
742 stores
562 stores
413 stores
422 stores
852 stores
Visual Distribution
| Platform | Total Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 83083 | 62.18% |
| Shopify | 20389 | 15.26% |
| Custom | 8536 | 6.39% |
| Wix eCommerce | 11519 | 8.62% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 7100 | 5.31% |
| OpenCart | 742 | 0.56% |
| Magento | 562 | 0.42% |
| PrestaShop | 413 | 0.31% |
| BigCommerce | 422 | 0.32% |
| GoDaddy Online Store | 852 | 0.64% |
Categories Distribution
Health & Beauty leads with 20.2% of all stores (12,808 stores) , followed by Clothing & Accessories (15.7%) and Food & Beverages (10.7%) .
Base: 63,316 AI-verified stores with physical delivery and detected product categories (88.7% of all verified stores). Percentages show share of stores within each category.
Top 10 Categories
12,808 stores
9,960 stores
6,800 stores
5,984 stores
3,813 stores
3,626 stores
2,859 stores
2,775 stores
2,658 stores
2,616 stores
Visual Distribution
| Category | Number of Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Health & Beauty | 12808 | 20.23% |
| Clothing & Accessories | 9960 | 15.73% |
| Food & Beverages | 6800 | 10.74% |
| Sporting Goods & Outdoor Gear | 5984 | 9.45% |
| Electronics & Technology | 3813 | 6.02% |
| Home & Garden | 3626 | 5.73% |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2859 | 4.52% |
| Toys & Games | 2775 | 4.38% |
| Gifts & Special Occasions | 2658 | 4.20% |
| Tools & Hardware | 2616 | 4.13% |
| Vehicles & Parts | 2498 | 3.95% |
| Business & Industrial | 2254 | 3.56% |
| Jewelry & Watches | 1904 | 3.01% |
| Furniture & Home Decor | 1850 | 2.92% |
| Books & Media | 911 | 1.44% |
Payment Providers Distribution
MasterCard leads with 21.1% among AI-verified physical stores (2,420 stores) , followed by PayPal (19.3%) and American Express (12.8%) .
Base: 7,520 AI-verified physical stores with detectable payment providers (10.5% 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
2,420 stores
2,208 stores
1,468 stores
1,284 stores
1,045 stores
661 stores
512 stores
488 stores
300 stores
273 stores
Visual Distribution
| Payment Provider | Store Count | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| MasterCard | 2420 | 21.14% |
| PayPal | 2208 | 19.29% |
| American Express | 1468 | 12.82% |
| Stripe Connect | 1284 | 11.22% |
| Bolt | 1045 | 9.13% |
| PayGate | 661 | 5.77% |
| VISA | 512 | 4.47% |
| Apple Pay | 488 | 4.26% |
| BitCoin | 300 | 2.62% |
| Klarna | 273 | 2.38% |
| Google Pay | 259 | 2.26% |
| JCB | 158 | 1.38% |
| PayU | 138 | 1.21% |
| iDEAL | 134 | 1.17% |
| Bancontact | 99 | 0.86% |
Shipping Carriers Distribution
The Courier Guy leads with 22.3% among AI-verified physical stores (2,237 stores) , followed by UPS (18.1%) and Pudo (11.7%) .
Base: 7,437 AI-verified physical stores with detectable shipping carriers (10.4% 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 | 2237 | 22.29% |
| UPS | 1812 | 18.05% |
| Pudo | 1173 | 11.69% |
| DHL | 948 | 9.44% |
| FedEx | 789 | 7.86% |
| USPS | 777 | 7.74% |
| Fastway | 501 | 4.99% |
| Aramex | 481 | 4.79% |
| 4PX | 249 | 2.48% |
| PostNL | 247 | 2.46% |
| Speedy | 247 | 2.46% |
| Royal Mail | 193 | 1.92% |
| DPD | 137 | 1.36% |
| Hermes | 126 | 1.26% |
| TNT | 121 | 1.21% |
Store Launch Timeline
Over the past 12 months, 14,781 new stores were launched in South Africa , with the highest activity in 2026-03 (2,005 stores) , demonstrating ongoing growth in the e-commerce market.
Last 12 Months
2,005 stores launched
1,594 stores launched
1,712 stores launched
1,234 stores launched
1,329 stores launched
1,229 stores launched
1,067 stores launched
1,139 stores launched
1,073 stores launched
998 stores launched
1,002 stores launched
399 stores launched
Monthly Trend
| Month | Stores Launched | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-03 | 2005 | 13.56% |
| 2026-02 | 1594 | 10.78% |
| 2026-01 | 1712 | 11.58% |
| 2025-12 | 1234 | 8.35% |
| 2025-11 | 1329 | 8.99% |
| 2025-10 | 1229 | 8.31% |
| 2025-09 | 1067 | 7.22% |
| 2025-08 | 1139 | 7.71% |
| 2025-07 | 1073 | 7.26% |
| 2025-06 | 998 | 6.75% |
| 2025-05 | 1002 | 6.78% |
| 2025-04 | 399 | 2.70% |
Active Stores by Launch Year
Currently, 69,795 active stores in South Africa are tracked in our database , with the most stores launched in 2026 (5,325 stores still active) . This shows the distribution of currently active stores by their original launch year.
Active Stores by Launch Year
5,325 active stores
11,946 active stores
7,336 active stores
5,601 active stores
4,984 active stores
5,630 active stores
5,407 active stores
3,695 active stores
3,551 active stores
3,509 active stores
1,382 active stores
1,104 active stores
1,030 active stores
1,476 active stores
918 active stores
Distribution by Launch Year
| Launch Year | Active Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5325 | 7.63% |
| 2025 | 11946 | 17.12% |
| 2024 | 7336 | 10.51% |
| 2023 | 5601 | 8.02% |
| 2022 | 4984 | 7.14% |
| 2021 | 5630 | 8.07% |
| 2020 | 5407 | 7.75% |
| 2019 | 3695 | 5.29% |
| 2018 | 3551 | 5.09% |
| 2017 | 3509 | 5.03% |
| 2016 | 1382 | 1.98% |
| 2015 | 1104 | 1.58% |
| 2014 | 1030 | 1.48% |
| 2013 | 1476 | 2.11% |
| 2012 | 918 | 1.32% |
| 2011 | 947 | 1.36% |
| 2010 | 796 | 1.14% |
| 2009 | 780 | 1.12% |
| 2008 | 630 | 0.90% |
| 2007 | 598 | 0.86% |
| 2006 | 542 | 0.78% |
| 2005 | 358 | 0.51% |
| 2004 | 371 | 0.53% |
| 2003 | 398 | 0.57% |
| 2002 | 317 | 0.45% |
| 2001 | 400 | 0.57% |
| 2000 | 303 | 0.43% |
| 1999 | 209 | 0.30% |
| 1998 | 137 | 0.20% |
| 1997 | 83 | 0.12% |
| 1996 | 26 | 0.04% |
| 1995 | 6 | 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 - Health & Beauty
WooCommerce - Health & Beauty
WooCommerce - Tools & Hardware
WooCommerce - Health & Beauty
WooCommerce - Food & Beverages
Data Coverage
| Field | Rows count | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Website | 71.4k | 100.00% |
| Emails | 37.8k | 52.92% |
| Phones | 17.4k | 24.41% |
| Ecommerce platform | 71.4k | 100.00% |
| Couriers | 7.4k | 10.42% |
| Payment Providers | 7.5k | 10.53% |
| Categories | 65.0k | 91.10% |
| Social Media | 45.3k | 63.46% |
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 71.4k 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 71.4k 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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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Yes. For large-scale data needs, custom market reports, or dedicated support, contact us to discuss enterprise pricing.
Social Media Usage
Facebook leads with 32.9% among stores with at least one detectable social profile (38,032 stores) , followed by Instagram (30.8%) and YouTube (8.0%) .
Base: 45,309 stores with any detectable social profile (63.5% 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
38,032 stores
35,573 stores
9,229 stores
8,310 stores
7,872 stores
5,212 stores
4,941 stores
3,558 stores
2,668 stores
203 stores
Visual Distribution