Online shopping has slowed – but it’s still growing.

Loading player...
If one looks at the numbers we’ve received lately from the likes of Walmart and Target as well, they’re all saying there’s been like a stimulus and a pandemic flush that’s basically coming out of the system.

Now, if you look at e-commerce as a percentage of retail sales going into the pandemic, it was growing at about 14% per annum on average. We then had a very big spike during Covid. Ever since then it’s been trending back to that 14% level. If you look at it in absolute terms, it was about 11% of total retail sales going into the pandemic; that then shot up to about 16.5% at its peak and now it’s back down to around about that 14.3%-odd level. So, over a two-year period it has pretty much shot up and come back down, but it’s still in line with long-term average growth rates.
4 Aug 2022 2AM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

Global fashion, local impact and lessons from Valentino’s business legacy

The fashion world is marking the passing of Italian designer Valentino Garavani, the founder of the Valentino fashion house and one of the architects of modern luxury. Over decades, his work became closely associated with global fashion capitals and with retailers and luxury groups that helped take haute couture into…
20 Jan 3PM 22 min

Unpacking 2026 global soft power index

South Africa has dropped two places in the 2026 Global Soft Power Index, now coming in at 43rd overall. Nzinga Qunta and Jeremy Sampson, chairman, Brand Finance Africa, take a closer look at what this ranking means for South Africa, how we stack up against regional peers, and what needs…
20 Jan 3PM 17 min

IMF forecasts resilient 2026 growth driven by AI amid easing

The International Monetary Fund again edged its 2026 global growth forecast higher on Monday as businesses and economies adapt to U.S. tariffs that have eased in recent months and a continued AI investment boom that has fueled asset wealth and expectations of productivity gains. Andre Cilliers, Currency Strategist at Treasury…
20 Jan 3PM 9 min