Big rewards and risks ahead as SA’s e-commerce sector nears billion-plus transactions yearly

Amid a growing digital landscape characterised by increased Internet connectivity and smartphone use, as well as a pronounced shift towards online shopping, the South African e-commerce sector is undergoing significant development and is projected to exceed R400-billion in value by 2025, driven by an anticipated one-billion-plus transactions a year, says Accenture sales and commerce lead for Africa Mushambi Mutuma. As of 2023, almost 44-million South Africans were connected to the Internet, compared with 25-million in 2013. Mutuma says this surge has directly fuelled the growth of e-commerce users, with projections suggesting a further increase to 37.9-million by 2027.