Why South African consumers are shopping direct, and what it means for e-commerce checkout strategy

South African consumers aren't tied to one type of platform: they browse marketplaces, scroll social feeds, and explore international sites to discover or search for products. However, when consumers are asked where they prefer to shop online, it is direct brand and retailer websites that come out ahead of everything else.

This preference is an important consideration for any business deciding where to invest its resources in the checkout flow.

Where South Africans prefer to shop

According to our 2026 How South Africans Shop report, brand websites lead at 75% of consumers preference, followed by retailer sites at 68%, marketplaces at 62%, international low-cost platforms at 49%, and social commerce at 27% (consumers could select more than one option).

Large marketplaces like Takealot and Amazon remain a strong presence, but the conclusion is that direct brand relationships still command the most consumer preference in South Africa, even as newer channels grow around them.

Why direct matters, and what this means for checkout

A consumer choosing to shop on a brand's own website, rather than through a marketplace or aggregator, indicates choosing a relationship over convenience. 

While a marketplace transaction still gives a business a sale, a direct transaction gives a business a customer, complete with data, a direct payment relationship, and the opportunity to build loyalty without competing for attention against similar sellers on the same page or marketplace.

It’s important to note that owning this direct relationship only pays off if the checkout experience justifies the consumer's choice to shop direct rather than defaulting to a marketplace. That means matching, and ideally exceeding, the convenience consumers have come to expect from marketplace checkouts.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank-native methods like Capitec Pay reduce a return customer's checkout to a couple of taps, closing the convenience gap that marketplaces used to enjoy almost exclusively.

56% of consumers say the ability to pay quickly and easily directly influences which platform or shop they choose, making checkout speed a critical acquisition lever for a direct-to-brand strategy, not only a retention one.

Preparing direct checkout for what comes next

The rise of AI-mediated shopping adds another reason to invest in a strong direct storefront now. As agentic commerce grows, a brand's website needs to serve two audiences at once: human shoppers browsing directly, and AI agents that need structured product data and API-first payment infrastructure to discover, evaluate, and transact on a consumer's behalf.

A direct storefront built only for human browsing risks becoming invisible to the agents increasingly mediating purchase decisions, even while human preference for direct brand relationships continues to grow.

Direct checkout as a growth channel

None of this requires abandoning marketplace presence, which still matters for reach and discovery. It does mean treating the direct checkout experience as a growth channel rather than a secondary option, with payment method coverage, one-click convenience, and structured, AI-readable product data all pulling in the same direction: giving consumers, and increasingly their AI agents, no reason to look elsewhere.

How Stitch helps businesses win at direct checkout

Stitch gives e-commerce businesses one integration to accept the full range of ways South Africans want to pay, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Capitec Pay, Pay by bank, card payments and Buy Now Pay Later. With payment orchestration, businesses can route transactions across providers to help keep payment success rates high. And because Stitch is built API-first, merchants are better placed to support agentic commerce as more purchases are made through AI.

For businesses investing in their own storefront, the result is a checkout that competes with marketplace convenience, while the customer relationship and the data that comes with it stay with the brand. Speak to the Stitch team to find out how your checkout can turn a consumer’s preference for shopping direct into a completed sale.

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FAQs

Do South African consumers prefer shopping on brand websites or marketplaces?

According to our 2026 consumer report, brand websites lead consumer preference at 75%, ahead of retailer sites, marketplaces, international low-cost platforms, and social commerce, though many consumers use more than one channel.

Why does a direct sale matter more to a business than a marketplace sale?

A direct transaction gives a business the customer relationship, data, and a direct payment connection, rather than a single transaction mediated by a third-party platform.

How important is checkout speed for direct-to-brand strategy?

56% of consumers say the ability to pay quickly and easily directly influences which platform or shop they choose, making checkout speed a genuine acquisition driver, not just a convenience feature.

What payment methods help a direct storefront compete with marketplace convenience?

One-click methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank-native options like Capitec Pay reduce checkout to a couple of taps for returning customers, matching the convenience consumers expect from marketplaces.

How does agentic commerce affect direct-to-brand checkout strategy?

As AI agents increasingly research and transact on consumers' behalf, a brand's direct storefront needs structured product data and API-first payment infrastructure to remain visible and usable to those agents, not just to human shoppers.

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