How to start an ecommerce store in South Africa.

We've helped launch stores in fashion, food, supplements, homeware, and B2B spares. The decisions below are the ones that matter most in the first 90 days. Get them right and the business runs. Get them wrong and you waste six months unpicking them.

Step 1 — Validate the product

Before spending on websites and stock, confirm people want what you're selling. Check volumes:

• Google Keyword Planner — search volume for your category in South Africa
• Takealot search — what's already ranked and priced
• Meta Ad Library — who else is running ads and what creative they're using
• Local Facebook groups — buyer conversations, common complaints

A simple test: put up a one-page site with pricing and a "reserve yours" button linked to a form. Drive R3,000 of Meta ads to it. If nobody clicks through to the form, the product isn't sharp enough yet.

Step 2 — Register the business

Sole proprietor

Default if you do nothing. Trade under your ID number, file turnover as part of your personal tax return. No setup cost. No limited liability — personal assets are on the line.

Pty Ltd via CIPC

R175 via BizPortal (the CIPC self-serve portal). Register with FNB, Standard Bank, or Capitec at the same time — BizPortal pre-packages the banking.

Things you'll need: ID document, proposed company name (reserve one free with CIPC name search), registered address, directors' IDs. Turnaround is typically 2–5 working days.

Bank account

Open a business bank account in the company name. Popular choices for ecommerce:

• FNB First Business Zero — zero monthly fee up to R1m turnover
• Capitec Business — cheapest for high transaction volume
• TymeBank Business — fully digital, free
• Standard Bank BizLaunch — bundled with CIPC registration

Don't try to run an ecommerce store through a personal account. Bank reconciliation becomes a nightmare and SARS takes a dim view come audit season.

Step 3 — VAT, tax, and compliance

VAT registration is compulsory above R1 million turnover in any rolling 12-month window. Voluntary registration is possible from R50,000 turnover but rarely advisable until you have input VAT to claim.

What you'll pay tax-wise:

• Corporate income tax — 27% on company profits
• Provisional tax — two estimates per year (Aug, Feb)
• VAT — 15%, filed bi-monthly once registered
• PAYE / UIF / SDL — if you employ anyone, 1%+1% UIF minimum

Get an accountant before you register for VAT. Xero at R250–R700/month plus an accountant at R1,500–R4,000/month is the common stack for SA ecommerce under R10m turnover.

Consumer Protection Act essentials: display prices inclusive of VAT, keep a published returns policy (21 calendar days is the safe default), and don't use dark patterns like pre-ticked upsells.

Step 4 — Pick a platform

The detailed comparison lives in our Shopify vs WooCommerce guide. Short version:

• Shopify Basic (R540/month) — fastest path to launch, ideal for first-time merchants
• WooCommerce on local hosting — cheaper at scale, more control, more maintenance
• Wix / Squarespace — viable for under 30 SKUs but limited integrations
• Takealot Marketplace only — valid strategy, but you rent the customer from Takealot

Step 5 — Set up payments

You need at least two gateway options. South Africans split between credit card and instant EFT roughly 60/40 depending on category.

Payfast

Card, instant EFT (Ozow built in), Mobicred, Zapper, SnapScan, SCode. Setup in a day. Pricing: 3.5% + R2 per card transaction, 2% on EFT. Best all-rounder.

Yoco Online

2.95% + VAT flat. Simpler than Payfast but card-only — no instant EFT. Good if most customers use credit cards.

Peach Payments

Negotiable pricing for volume, supports Ozow, Capitec Pay, Mobicred, and traditional cards. Worth quoting once you're over R500k/month.

What to enable on day one

• Card payments (Visa, Mastercard)
• Instant EFT — non-negotiable in SA, converts well for higher-value carts
• Mobicred or RCS — credit-on-demand, useful for carts over R2,000
• Apple Pay / Google Pay — higher conversion on mobile where most traffic lands

Step 6 — Shipping and courier setup

Courier economics shape your margins. Under-price shipping and you eat the difference. Over-price it and carts abandon. Options:

The main couriers

• The Courier Guy — national coverage, R95–R140 for a 5kg parcel door-to-door
• Aramex — strong tracking, 24–48hr to main metros, R120–R180
• Pudo (via Courier Guy) — locker-to-locker from R60, R100 for door-to-locker
• PostNet — counter-to-counter, 2–3 days, R110 small parcel
• DSV / RAM — bulkier items, pallets, B2B deliveries

Use an aggregator

Don't integrate with couriers directly unless you're doing 1000+ orders a month. Use an aggregator:

• Bob Go (formerly uAfrica) — Shopify and Woo plugin, live rates, R500/month + per-parcel
• Shiplogic — API-first, better for custom platforms
• DeliveryApp — newer, aggressive on pricing

Rates negotiation: once you're doing 100+ parcels a week, call The Courier Guy or Aramex directly. Accounts get 15–30% off published rates.

Step 7 — Inventory and fulfilment

At small scale, ship from home or a small unit. Once you're consistently over 50 orders a day, consider:

• Self-run warehouse — R30–R80/m² in Johannesburg south or Cape Town North
• Third-party logistics (3PL) — Parcelninja, Skynamo, Fulfilment Hub. Around R15–R30 per parcel picked
• Takealot Marketplace Plus — they fulfil from their warehouse, take 15–30% commission

Step 8 — Launch with traction

A "soft launch" to 200 people you know beats a silent launch to 10,000 strangers. Before spending a Rand on paid ads:

1. Order three times from your own store. Every time you'll find something broken.
2. Send the URL to 50 friends and family. Ask them to try to buy. Watch Hotjar recordings.
3. Collect at least 10 reviews before driving cold traffic. Reviews double conversion.
4. Write 5 blog posts answering buyer questions about your category.
5. Set up Meta and Google tracking (pixel, conversion API, GA4). Verify events fire correctly.

Step 9 — Marketing on day one

The cheapest acquisition channels for a new SA ecommerce store, in order:

• Organic content — TikTok and Instagram Reels, local accents, product demos. Free, hardest to scale.
• Micro-influencer seeding — 10 creators at R500–R2,000 each for authentic content
• Meta Ads — start at R300/day, broad audience, 4–6 creative variants
• Google Shopping — only viable once you have a product feed and 30+ SKUs
• Email — Klaviyo free tier up to 250 contacts; set up welcome + abandoned cart flows before launch

Full comparison in our Meta Ads vs Google Ads breakdown.

Step 10 — What to measure in the first 90 days

• Conversion rate — healthy benchmark 1.5–3% for SA DTC
• Average order value — push with bundles, free shipping thresholds
• Customer acquisition cost — total ad spend / new customers
• Repeat purchase rate at 60 days — single best signal of product-market fit
• Gross margin after shipping and fees — the number that pays for growth

Budget for the first 90 days

Line item	Budget (ZAR)
CIPC registration	R175
Domain + hosting (year 1)	R600 – R3,000
Platform (3 months)	R1,600 – R5,000
Website build / setup	R15,000 – R80,000
Product photography	R5,000 – R20,000
Initial stock	R20,000 – R100,000+
Packaging	R3,000 – R15,000
Meta + Google ads (3 months)	R30,000 – R90,000
Accounting setup	R2,000 – R8,000
Realistic total	R80,000 – R300,000+

You can launch for less by going lighter on stock and doing your own photography. You cannot launch well for less than R30,000 in total.

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