South African e-commerce, although small in share, is witnessing rapid post-pandemic growth driven by increased consumer confidence in online shopping and improvement in services offered by local players.
Entries of global giants such as Shein, Temu, and Amazon in South Africa has heightened competitive intensity and is elevating consumer expectations. Amazon has entered using its time-tested playbook, which has had varied degrees of success globally.
Local incumbents have various strategic response options. Irrespective of their approach, they must invest in key e-commerce enablers such as dynamic pricing, hyper-personalization, last mile logistics, and tech to retain market share.