South Africa, it’s time to shopaygo: a simpler way to shop, pay and send

Online shopping in South Africa is evolving - and with it, the way people buy, sell and send.

It’s time to shopaygo (pronounced sho-pay-go) - a new ecommerce concept from Bob that brings shopping, payments and delivery together in one place, while also opening up new opportunities to earn online.

Online shopping has become part of everyday life in South Africa, with the ecommerce market projected to have exceeded R130 billion by the end of 2025. This growth is being fuelled by greater smartphone access, younger digital-first consumers, and a rising number of South Africans earning income through online selling and side hustles.

Making online shopping easier

While South Africans are comfortable shopping online, they expect more than just access - they want simplicity, convenience and reliability. Shoppers still face familiar frustrations - jumping between platforms to browse, pay and organise delivery, often with uncertainty around payments and delivery.

With shopaygo, Bob’s focus shifts to making that experience simpler and more intuitive for today’s user. It’s a natural next step for a platform that has long been a part of South Africa’s online shopping journey, evolving from bidorbuy - one of the country’s earliest online marketplaces and a trusted household name.

Built for how South Africans shop

A proudly South African platform, shopaygo is built around the way people actually shop, pay and send parcels. It removes the biggest barriers by eliminating the stops between shopping, paying and sending.

By bringing together its marketplace (Bob Shop), payments (Bob Pay), and courier aggregation and locker service (Bob Go and Bob Box), Bob connects the full ecommerce journey in one place. Users can move from browsing to payment to delivery in a single flow, together or individually. 

Opening doors for entrepreneurs

But shopaygo is not just about buying. It also supports how people are earning, building and running businesses today - giving small businesses and side hustlers a way to showcase their products, reach customers, manage payments and handle delivery, all in one place.

More South Africans are finding new ways to earn an income, with online selling and small business activity on the rise. Among younger consumers in particular, this trend is accelerating, with research pointing to a growing side hustle economy.

“shopaygo is a response to the shift. Whether you are buying something, building a side hustle, or growing a small business, Bob brings together several services to support the full online experience,” says Anita Erasmus, CEO-designate of Bob.

For many small businesses, the opportunity is clear - but managing the day-to-day can quickly become complex.

“We supply a wide range of home and lifestyle products, and what started as a small business has grown steadily as we’ve expanded our range and our customer base,” says Glen Fine, Managing Director of Calasca and a long-time Bob merchant. “As we grew, managing sales, payments and deliveries across multiple platforms became increasingly time-consuming and often led to delays and inefficiencies.

The Bob platform stood out for us because it offers an all-in-one solution, making it much easier to manage listings, payments and logistics in one place. Since moving onto the platform, it has simplified our processes significantly, saving time and reducing admin, which allows us to focus more on growing our business.”

Making shopaygo easy for everyone

At its heart, shopaygo is about making things simple enough for anyone to use - from digitally savvy users to those newer to online shopping.

“For most people, it’s not about having the latest tech or knowing all the ins and outs,” says Erasmus. “It’s about being able to pick up your phone, find what you need, pay safely and have it delivered, without it feeling complicated. 

That’s what Bob is aiming for - a platform that feels easy from the start, whether you’re buying something for the first time, running a side hustle, or sending a parcel to family.”

To help more South Africans understand how it works, Bob is also rolling out a nationwide awareness campaign across billboards, radio, and digital platforms, showing how shopaygo fits into everyday life. 

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To see how Bob makes it simpler to shop, pay and send online, 

visit: https://www.bob.co.za/shopaygo-with-bob