An analysis of almost 3,000 South African e-commerce brands found that growth was uneven across the market. The top 5% of brands generated 44% of total order growth, showing that demand was concentrated among a relatively small group of higher-performing businesses during the year.

Omnisend’s South African marketing data helps explain this shift.

Shoppers clicked on marketing messages less often, but when they did, they were far more likely to buy. With fewer chances to reach shoppers, timing became more important, and brands that could react quickly to customer behavior captured more sales.

As a result, behavior-based automated emails generated 30% of email revenue from just 3.9% of sends.

“What we saw in 2025 reflects the broader economy – growth came back, but it didn’t reach everyone,” says Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend.

“After years of uncertainty and pressure on household budgets, people were still willing to spend, but they were much more deliberate about how and when they did. Brands that were able to react quickly to customer behaviour had a clear advantage, while others found it harder to keep up.”

Shoppers engaged with marketing less often, but bought more when they did

Marketing performance data from Omnisend shows that quality mattered more than quantity for South African brands. While it became harder to earn clicks, each interaction carried much higher intent, reflecting a shift toward more deliberate shopping behaviour.

Year over year (South Africa):

• Average revenue per email increased by 43%, from R0.66 to R0.99
• Email click-to-conversion increased by 97%, rising from 6.09% to 11.99%
• At the same time, email click rates declined by 29%

“Clicks became harder to get in 2025, but they also became more valuable,” says Bauer.

“Shoppers were more selective, but when they did engage, they were ready to buy. That’s why fewer interactions still produced more revenue – each click carried more intent than it did before. That shift rewarded brands that focused on efficiency and relevance, rather than volume.”

Behavior-based marketing captured a disproportionate share of revenue

The data shows that many of the South African brands that grew the fastest used automation to respond to customer behavior in real time.

As shoppers became more selective, brands that reached customers when they were already close to buying saw better results.

Key automation findings (South Africa):

• Automated emails generated 30% of total email revenue while representing just 3.9% of email sends
• Revenue per automated email send: R16.43
• Revenue per scheduled email send: R0.99
• Automated messages delivered higher conversion efficiency across channels:
  • Email click-to-conversion: automated 26.80% ; scheduled 11.99%
  • SMS click-to-conversion: automated 5.02% ; scheduled 1.95%
  • Push notification click-to-conversion: automated 34.54% ; scheduled 7.86%

“Brands that relied on automation weren’t trying to convince people to buy – they were responding when customers had already shown intent,” says Bauer. “In a year when attention was limited and shoppers had more options than ever, that approach worked better. Automated messages performed well because they fit naturally into how people shop today, rather than interrupting them.”

View the full report.