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

PIC At War With Itself: Governance and the health of Pensions

The Public Investment Corporation—custodian of more than R3 trillion in public money and the retirement savings of millions of South Africans—is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A whistleblower complaint, the controversial Lanseria Airport deal, the precautionary suspension of CEO Patrick Dlamini, board resignations and FSCA…
29 Jul 2PM 10 min

Africa’s Delivery Generation: Youth Demand Jobs & Clean Government

The African Youth Survey 2026 reveals a rising generation more optimistic than at any time since the pandemic — but demanding delivery, accountability and economic dignity. Commissioner Ivor Ichikowitz unpacks why optimism has surged, why cost‑of‑living pressures dominate youth concerns, and why young Africans support democracy but reject Western models…
29 Jul 1PM 12 min

SA’s Energy Future in a Volatile World

South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the National Planning Commission have issued a joint advisory note on how the country should navigate its Just Energy Transition amid ongoing geopolitical shocks. Dipak Patel unpacks Africa’s vulnerability to imported fossil fuels, the urgency of accelerating renewable energy,…
29 Jul 12PM 14 min

Building a Future‑Ready Mining & Energy Company: Mantengu’s Next Chapter

Mantengu CEO Magen Naidoo shares how he is steering the company into a new era — blending mining and energy strategy, people‑centred leadership, fiscal discipline and operational transformation. With 24 years of experience, including 17 at Deloitte, Naidoo discusses culture, capability building, risk management and what it takes to build…
28 Jul 1PM 16 min

AI, 4IR & Mining’s Future: Human‑Centred Innovation for Africa

RIIS energy and sustainability expert Sylvesters Okello unpacks PwC’s Ten Insights into 4IR in South African Mining. We explore CEO‑driven AI adoption, the sector’s poor data maturity, the massive digital skills gap, and why mining must embrace human‑centred technology. A powerful conversation on how AI can enhance safety, productivity and…
28 Jul 1PM 14 min