South Africa E-commerce Market
Explore 64.7k verified e-commerce stores in the South Africa. Compare platforms, categories, PSP/carrier signals, available contacts, and merchant-size segments.
Scanned from 300M+ domains. 126.0k with e-commerce signals. 64.7k verified as active stores.
This is a public preview. Use the catalog, exports, or API for full account lists and CRM-ready fields.
· · Next full refresh: July 2026
E-commerce Platforms Distribution
WooCommerce stores with 52.2% of stores with physical delivery (32,802 stores) , followed by Shopify (26.4%) and Custom (12.8%) .
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)
32,802 stores
16,615 stores
8,062 stores
2,550 stores
989 stores
525 stores
368 stores
337 stores
313 stores
292 stores
Visual Distribution
32,802 stores
16,615 stores
8,062 stores
2,550 stores
989 stores
525 stores
368 stores
337 stores
313 stores
292 stores
| Platform | Stores with Physical Delivery | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 32802 | 52.19% |
| Shopify | 16615 | 26.43% |
| Custom | 8062 | 12.83% |
| Wix eCommerce | 2550 | 4.06% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 989 | 1.57% |
| OpenCart | 525 | 0.84% |
| Magento | 368 | 0.59% |
| BigCommerce | 337 | 0.54% |
| PrestaShop | 313 | 0.50% |
| GoDaddy Online Store | 292 | 0.46% |
Show broader dataset (all e-commerce signals)
All Stores Distribution
WooCommerce holds 62.3% share of all South Africa e-commerce stores (76,149) , with Shopify at 14.8% and Custom at 6.6% (June 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)
76,149 stores
18,084 stores
8,062 stores
10,781 stores
6,493 stores
692 stores
471 stores
401 stores
351 stores
778 stores
Visual Distribution
76,149 stores
18,084 stores
8,062 stores
10,781 stores
6,493 stores
692 stores
471 stores
401 stores
351 stores
778 stores
| Platform | Total Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | 76149 | 62.28% |
| Shopify | 18084 | 14.79% |
| Custom | 8062 | 6.59% |
| Wix eCommerce | 10781 | 8.82% |
| Squarespace Commerce | 6493 | 5.31% |
| OpenCart | 692 | 0.57% |
| Magento | 471 | 0.39% |
| BigCommerce | 401 | 0.33% |
| PrestaShop | 351 | 0.29% |
| GoDaddy Online Store | 778 | 0.64% |
Categories Distribution
Health & Beauty stores with 20.1% of all stores (11,544 stores) , followed by Clothing & Accessories (15.5%) and Food & Beverages (10.9%) .
Base: 57,504 AI-verified stores with physical delivery and detected product categories (88.9% of all verified stores). Percentages show share of stores within each category.
Top 10 Categories
11,544 stores
8,921 stores
6,248 stores
5,526 stores
3,373 stores
3,319 stores
2,635 stores
2,553 stores
2,426 stores
2,336 stores
Visual Distribution
11,544 stores
8,921 stores
6,248 stores
5,526 stores
3,373 stores
3,319 stores
2,635 stores
2,553 stores
2,426 stores
2,336 stores
| Category | Number of Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Health & Beauty | 11544 | 20.08% |
| Clothing & Accessories | 8921 | 15.51% |
| Food & Beverages | 6248 | 10.87% |
| Sporting Goods & Outdoor Gear | 5526 | 9.61% |
| Home & Garden | 3373 | 5.87% |
| Electronics & Technology | 3319 | 5.77% |
| Arts & Entertainment | 2635 | 4.58% |
| Toys & Games | 2553 | 4.44% |
| Tools & Hardware | 2426 | 4.22% |
| Vehicles & Parts | 2336 | 4.06% |
Payment Providers Distribution
MasterCard stores with 20.5% among AI-verified physical stores (2,246 stores) , followed by PayPal (18.1%) and American Express (12.3%) .
Base: 6,933 AI-verified physical stores with detectable payment providers (10.7% 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
2,246 stores
1,980 stores
1,352 stores
1,202 stores
985 stores
658 stores
557 stores
483 stores
326 stores
304 stores
Visual Distribution
2,246 stores
1,980 stores
1,352 stores
1,202 stores
985 stores
658 stores
557 stores
483 stores
326 stores
304 stores
| Payment Provider | Store Count | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| MasterCard | 2246 | 20.50% |
| PayPal | 1980 | 18.07% |
| American Express | 1352 | 12.34% |
| Stripe Connect | 1202 | 10.97% |
| Bolt | 985 | 8.99% |
| PayGate | 658 | 6.01% |
| Apple Pay | 557 | 5.08% |
| VISA | 483 | 4.41% |
| Klarna | 326 | 2.98% |
| Google Pay | 304 | 2.77% |
Shipping Carriers Distribution
The Courier Guy stores with 24.8% among AI-verified physical stores (2,145 stores) , followed by UPS (17.6%) and Pudo (12.8%) .
Base: 6,636 AI-verified physical stores with detectable shipping carriers (10.3% 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
2,145 stores
1,523 stores
1,108 stores
839 stores
591 stores
557 stores
442 stores
437 stores
230 stores
210 stores
| Shipping Carrier | Store Count | Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Courier Guy | 2145 | 24.77% |
| UPS | 1523 | 17.59% |
| Pudo | 1108 | 12.80% |
| DHL | 839 | 9.69% |
| FedEx | 591 | 6.83% |
| USPS | 557 | 6.43% |
| Aramex | 442 | 5.10% |
| Fastway | 437 | 5.05% |
| Speedy | 230 | 2.66% |
| PostNL | 210 | 2.43% |
Store Launch Timeline
Over the past 12 months, 12,887 new stores were launched in South Africa , with the highest activity in 2026-05 (1,890 stores) , demonstrating ongoing growth in the e-commerce market.
Last 12 Months
1,890 stores launched
1,599 stores launched
1,493 stores launched
1,181 stores launched
1,076 stores launched
735 stores launched
910 stores launched
963 stores launched
857 stores launched
890 stores launched
910 stores launched
383 stores launched
Monthly Trend
14.7% of last 12 months
12.4% of last 12 months
11.6% of last 12 months
9.2% of last 12 months
8.3% of last 12 months
5.7% of last 12 months
7.1% of last 12 months
7.5% of last 12 months
6.7% of last 12 months
6.9% of last 12 months
7.1% of last 12 months
3.0% of last 12 months
| Month | Stores Launched | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05 | 1890 | 14.67% |
| 2026-04 | 1599 | 12.41% |
| 2026-03 | 1493 | 11.59% |
| 2026-02 | 1181 | 9.16% |
| 2026-01 | 1076 | 8.35% |
| 2025-12 | 735 | 5.70% |
| 2025-11 | 910 | 7.06% |
| 2025-10 | 963 | 7.47% |
| 2025-09 | 857 | 6.65% |
| 2025-08 | 890 | 6.91% |
| 2025-07 | 910 | 7.06% |
| 2025-06 | 383 | 2.97% |
Active Stores by Launch Year
Currently, 63,141 active stores in South Africa are tracked in our database , with the most stores launched in 2026 (7,354 stores still active) . This shows the distribution of currently active stores by their original launch year.
Active Stores by Launch Year
7,354 active stores
9,084 active stores
6,297 active stores
4,895 active stores
4,425 active stores
5,025 active stores
4,841 active stores
3,278 active stores
3,157 active stores
3,190 active stores
1,240 active stores
986 active stores
933 active stores
1,338 active stores
837 active stores
Distribution by Launch Year
11.6% of tracked active stores
14.4% of tracked active stores
10.0% of tracked active stores
7.8% of tracked active stores
7.0% of tracked active stores
8.0% of tracked active stores
7.7% of tracked active stores
5.2% of tracked active stores
5.0% of tracked active stores
5.1% of tracked active stores
2.0% of tracked active stores
1.6% of tracked active stores
1.5% of tracked active stores
2.1% of tracked active stores
1.3% of tracked active stores
| Launch Year | Active Stores | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7354 | 11.65% |
| 2025 | 9084 | 14.39% |
| 2024 | 6297 | 9.97% |
| 2023 | 4895 | 7.75% |
| 2022 | 4425 | 7.01% |
| 2021 | 5025 | 7.96% |
| 2020 | 4841 | 7.67% |
| 2019 | 3278 | 5.19% |
| 2018 | 3157 | 5.00% |
| 2017 | 3190 | 5.05% |
| 2016 | 1240 | 1.96% |
| 2015 | 986 | 1.56% |
| 2014 | 933 | 1.48% |
| 2013 | 1338 | 2.12% |
| 2012 | 837 | 1.33% |
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
Custom - Electronics & Technology
WooCommerce - Baby & Toddler
Custom - Home & Garden
Shopify - Health & Beauty
Data Coverage
| Field | Rows count | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Website | 64.7k | 100.00% |
| Emails | 33.2k | 51.26% |
| Phones | 27.0k | 41.72% |
| Ecommerce platform | 64.7k | 100.00% |
| Couriers | 6.6k | 10.26% |
| Payment Providers | 6.9k | 10.72% |
| Categories | 59.1k | 91.38% |
| Social Media | 41.3k | 63.86% |
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 64.7k 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 country, platform, category, PSP, carrier, technology, and merchant-size signals 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 64.7k verified South Africa e-commerce stores with 50+ data points per store: e-commerce platform, product counts, categories, payment providers, shipping carriers, technology stack, merchant-size signals, and available business contact fields.
- 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, product category, payment provider, shipping carrier, technology stack, store age, cross-border signals, and merchant-size bands. Some advanced signals are plan-gated, and the same field contract is used by the web app, exports, 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 stores with 32.9% among stores with at least one detectable social profile (34,667 stores) , followed by Instagram (30.9%) and YouTube (8.0%) .
Base: 41,304 stores with any detectable social profile (63.9% 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
34,667 stores
32,578 stores
8,447 stores
7,741 stores
6,861 stores
4,746 stores
4,451 stores
3,282 stores
2,509 stores
180 stores
Visual Distribution
34,667 stores
32,578 stores
8,447 stores
7,741 stores
6,861 stores
4,746 stores
4,451 stores
3,282 stores
2,509 stores
180 stores