Ecommerce in South Africa is growing daily, with more and more stores going online and an increasing number of customers looking to shop on the web.

If you run a small business in South Africa, chances are that you’re always on the lookout for ways to improve your operations and better serve your customers. One way to do this is by choosing the right eCommerce platform for your business.

Here are some of the best eCommerce platforms for South African small businesses. We’ll also provide some tips on what to look for when choosing an eCommerce platform.

So, if you’re ready to take your small business to the next level, read on.

What is eCommerce & Why is it Needed For Small Businesses?

eCommerce is the buying and selling of products and services through a digital medium on the internet. It offers small businesses a unique opportunity to expand their market reach by reaching out to customers around the world rather than relying on local patrons alone.

It also provides an alternative sales channel to grow revenues that, in many cases, can be more accessible and cost-effective than physical storefronts. With its technological advances, eCommerce allows businesses to communicate with customers more quickly, effectively, and securely.

Incorporating eCommerce into any small business plan brings the potential for improved exposure, enhanced customer interaction, greater efficiency, and increased profits.

Top South African eCommerce Platforms

E-commerce has become an important tool for businesses looking to reach a global customer base and capitalise on the incredible potential of online sales. There is no shortage of eCommerce platforms available, but which ones will really help your business reach its full potential?

Netcash Shop

Features:

• Integrated with social media networks
• Use Netcash payment gateway seamlessly
• Free 30-day demo

Netcash Shop is the white-labelled, South African version of Ecwid provided by Netcash. There’s a free option, as well as paid options with added features for growing businesses. The shop platform can create an ‘instant store’ for your website with their website builder.

Netcash is an easy-to-use platform that offers free hosting on the shop.netcash.co.za sub-domain, free storage and SSL certificate, and unlimited bandwidth. And to save small businesses money, they’ve created a Free Forever plan, if you activate the payment gateway. You’re only charged for the Shop plan and transaction fees – no additional cart fees.

The platform offers effortless integration with Facebook Shop, Instagram, Google Shopping, Amazon, eBay, and local courier apps are available. The platform is designed to handle all of the technical details so that you, as the business owner, can focus on supporting your own customers. It’s also incredibly easy to sign up

Shopify

Features:

• Simple and easy set-up
• Outstanding customer support in multiple languages
• Robust social media integrations

This powerful platform is designed for all types of businesses, from startups to established firms. You’ll find numerous eCommerce websites in South Africa that use this platform. Shopify‘s user-friendly dashboard makes it perfect for the day-to-day operations of busy retailers.

While Shopify can be an easy tool to integrate into your website, it is not focused on the South African market, and this can lead to some issues. Extra costs occur for users in South Africa for transactions, which push up the cost of running your online store.

WooCommerce

Features:

• Easy to optimise for SEO
• Large open-source community
• Fantastic integrations for marketing & sales

WooCommerce enables users to quickly and easily create online stores on WordPress. It is an open source solution and provides an intuitive platform to customise your store according to your needs.

WooCommerce includes several free and paid features that make it ideal for both small businesses and large enterprises. These include product management tools, payment processing options, automated taxes, shipping methods, customer support tools, analysis, and reporting capabilities.

With WooCommerce, you can quickly launch your online store without having to hire developers or pay high costs.

Wix

Features:

• Great support for customers
• Third-party social media integration
• Free themes available

Wix provides users in South Africa with a comprehensive and versatile solution for creating and managing online stores. It offers an intuitive design interface, drag-and-drop tools, custom templates, payment gateway integration, and access to a wide range of features.

It also supports multiple languages, currencies, and tax rates to meet the requirements of local businesses. Plus, Wix has a powerful advertising platform for reaching customers worldwide.

BigCommerce

Features:

• Strong SEO optimisation
• Good option for growing businesses
• 24/7 technical support

BigCommerce is a powerful eCommerce platform designed to help online businesses in South Africa succeed. With its easy-to-use interface and comprehensive suite of features, it is a top choice if you want to get your business off the ground quickly and efficiently.

With BigCommerce, you can create a professional eCommerce website that looks great on any device, including desktop, mobile, and tablet. You’ll have access to powerful marketing tools like SEO optimization, customer segmentation, product recommendations, and more.

You can also integrate with other popular tools, such as QuickBooks Online and Xero, for accounting purposes. BigCommerce provides 24/7 support from their knowledgeable team of experts so that you can get help whenever you need it.

Squarespace

Features:

• Mobile-friendly
• Easy to use and customise
• Best for businesses working with overseas clients

Squarespace is a powerful eCommerce platform for businesses in South Africa looking to launch an online store dealing with foreign clients. It offers a range of features designed to make it easy for you to create a website, build content and manage your online store quickly and easily.

The platform allows customers to accept payments from Stripe and Paypal. It also includes tools to help businesses customise their website, add products, manage orders, and track inventory as they grow.

Squarespace also has integrated marketing tools. These allow you to track customer behaviour on your site, set up marketing campaigns, and even use customisable loyalty programs.

Portmoni

Features:

• No transaction fees charged
• Free domain offered with packages
• Completely mobile-friendly

Portmoni is a rapidly growing eCommerce platform for South African businesses. It offers a wide range of features to make it easy for entrepreneurs and small businesses to start selling online.

With their integrated payment processor, customers can securely pay for their purchases with popular payment methods like debit and credit cards, EFTs, and M-Pesa. It also offers quick set-up time, low transaction fees, fraud protection services, and customer support.

They have tools such as promotions management and analytics that allow users to track performance metrics like sales volumes and product reviews. Portmoni is an ideal eCommerce platform for South African entrepreneurs who are looking for a reliable way to begin selling online.

Shopstar

Features:

• Pay less for smaller inventories
• No transaction fees
• Customisable look and feel

With Shopstar, South African businesses can accept payments from customers across the country, send automated invoices, create custom marketing campaigns, and track customer data to better understand your target audience.

Shopstar also provides a comprehensive set of analytics tools to help businesses make informed decisions when it comes to optimising online presence. All of these features come together in one simple package, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes.

The only catch is that pricing is based on how many products you have in your store. This is great if you’re trying to sell one or two services or specialise in specific products. But it can be costly if you have many products.

Weebly

Features:

• Free to use
• Great for smaller online stores
• Optimised mobile checkout

Weebly provides a great foundation for new businesses or those looking to expand into the digital space, allowing you to launch quickly and easily with minimal effort. There are very few bells and whistles, but for anyone intimidated about taking their business online, Weebly is ideal.

Weebly provides tools specifically designed to help South African businesses succeed in the digital space. These include analytics and insights reporting that have been customised for the South African market. As well as advanced payment systems and options tailored to suit South African customers.

Shift4Shop

Features:

• Free to use with in-house payment process
• One of the best shipping solutions
• Excellent management tools

Shift4shop provides an easy-to-use, secure shopping cart and checkout system. It also offers powerful marketing tools to help businesses increase their visibility online and reach new customers.

With its analytics dashboard, businesses can track customer trends and keep up with the latest market changes. Shift4Shop eCommerce is a great solution for businesses looking to launch an online store quickly and efficiently, as long as there is a developer involved.

Prestashop

Features:

• Open-source and free to use
• User-friendly interface
• Supports multiple currencies and language

Prestashop has a number of advantages over other eCommerce platforms. These include flexibility and scalability, low cost of entry, and reliable customer service. The platform is also highly secure, as it includes features such as encryption technology, fraud detection, and data protection.

With Prestashop’s easy-to-use admin panel, you can quickly set up your store to take orders right away. Its large selection of payment gateways makes it easy for customers to pay using any method they wish.

Business owners can also take advantage of Prestashop’s built-in SEO capabilities to help them increase their visibility online. Lastly, there are numerous add-ons and extensions available for Prestashop, which allow merchants to customise their stores.

Summary: Best eCommerce Platform in South Africa

South Africa has multiple eCommerce platforms available to businesses and entrepreneurs, making it easy to buy, sell, and manage products online. These platforms provide an easy-to-use interface with various features to help you customise your stores and streamline your operations.

With affordable prices and reliable customer service, these platforms offer businesses the ability to quickly set up an online store with minimal cost or disruption. They also come with tools such as analytics, marketing automation, payment processing, and more that allow you to effectively manage your business.