Yes, and the report measures it three ways. On the constant-price series used in previous editions it crossed in the first quarter of 2025. At the November 2025 trading peak it exceeded 10% in a single month. On the strictest like-for-like nominal measure it crosses in the first half of 2026, making 2026 the first calendar year to average 10%.

South Africans spent about R130-billion online in 2025, up from R96-billion the year before. World Wide Worx forecasts roughly R159-billion in 2026, growth of about 22.5%, between five and ten times the rate of physical retail.

Declined cards. In the 2026 retailer survey, 61.2% of retailers named card decline as the leading cause of abandoned carts, up from 27.9% a year earlier when a long or complicated checkout topped the list. Shipping fees remain second at 51.7%.

The market has settled into a 20 to 35% annual growth band, with 2026 tracking about 22.5% on a turnover-weighted basis. Growth below that band is losing share; above it is taking share.

Card remains the base layer, with instant EFT and pay-by-bank now carrying substantial checkout volume. Capitec Pay alone accounts for around 40% of payment value at some processors. Digital wallets have grown more than 35% year on year. Buy-now-pay-later is now offered by 54.7% of retailers, up from 15.9%, and performs best between R800 and R8,000.

Amazon launched Prime in South Africa on 3 June 2026 at R59 a month or R399 a year, making it the 27th Prime market worldwide. There is no minimum order size, which removes the threshold most local retailers use to protect delivery costs.

The share of adults shopping online fell from 36.6% to 34.2% while total spending grew more than a fifth. Existing shoppers are spending more, but the market has saturated its first affluent, urban cohort. Internet access reaches 79.1% of adults, so fewer than half the connected population shops online. The report calls this its most important finding.

World Wide Worx, led by analyst Arthur Goldstuck, in partnership with Mastercard, Peach Payments, Ask Africa, Shiprazor and Ace Labs. It is dated 14 August 2026 and draws on retailer financial disclosures through the 2026 financial year, Stats SA retail data, 23,910 Ask Africa TGI consumer interviews, and a survey of 201 South African online retail decision-makers conducted in August 2026.

For most categories, a mobile site. Online shopping in South Africa is smartphone-first (57.9% of online shoppers use one, more than double the 26% on laptops), but browser purchasing still beats in-app purchasing in 42 of the 48 categories measured. Clothing shows the widest gap at 28.4% through a browser against 17.9% through an app, and groceries follow the same pattern. The report's conclusion is to plan for browser-based shopping alongside the app, not after it.