Amid a privacy storm abroad, Shopify quietly expands in SÁ

The e-commerce giant powers more than 18,000 online stores in SA. A revived lawsuit in the US has raised questions about what Shopify knows - and consumers don't - about data trails left behind.

- By Kara le Roux

You might not know it, but Shopify probably knows you. If you've bought a T-shirt, browsed for a side table or abandoned a cart full of skincare products at 1am, your clicks may have passed through the back end of Shopify.

The Canadian platform underpins 18,148 South African online stores, including major retailers such as Pep, Edgars and Ackermans. Its appeal lies in its simplicity: you don’t need a developer, warehouse or business degree to get started. In a country grappling with a 31.9% unemployment rate, Shopify acts as a digital launchpad for entrepreneurs.

Although the platform continues to scale up in Mzansi, its global reputation is being tested thanks to a revived data privacy lawsuit in California.

California calls Shopify to court

Reuters reported on 21 April on a US federal appeals court ruling that reinstated a class action lawsuit against Shopify.

The plaintiff, Brandon Briskin, claims Shopify planted tracking cookies on his iPhone without consent after he purchased activewear from a retailer using Shopify’s platform. He alleges the data collected was used to build a consumer profile that was then sold without his consent.

Shopify, backed by the US Chamber of Commerce, contended that the ruling could unfairly subject global service providers to lawsuits in unrelated jurisdictions.

The Shopify surge

In South Africa, it seems that Shopify has become the visa stamp for joining the online retail economy.

According to data from Store Leads, a platform that provides e-commerce store data, Shopify’s usage in South Africa grew 23% year on year in the first quarter of 2025. Cape Town leads the pack with 4,426 stores, followed by Johannesburg (2,377) and Pretoria (1,426).

Apparel is the biggest category, but beauty and fitness as well as home and garden are fast climbers.