How AI is taking e-commerce places in South Africa

TDMC (The Digital Media Collective), a certified Google Premier Partner, Meta Business Partner, and Shopify Select Partner shares their analysis of Google’s AI in Action conference held in Cape Town in July, highlighting the direct impact on South African e-commerce businesses.

The Google event, themed AI is Now, demonstrated practical AI applications that will reshape how South African consumers shop online and how merchants operate their stores. The conference featured live demonstrations of Google’s Gemini AI models and new tools that can automate complex marketing and customer service tasks.

Key TDMC team members attended the one-day conference which cemented many of their own beliefs in the power of AI in the e-commerce marketplace and galvanised their commitment to harnessing many of the new innovations shared at this gathering of innovators.

“We’re seeing the end of AI experimentation and the start of AI implementation,” says TDMC media director Caleb Shepard. “Our clients who operate Shopify stores need to understand that AI isn’t coming, it’s here – and their competitors are already using it.”

Key developments for e-commerce

Google announced several developments that directly affect online retail, including:

• Project Mariner, which can browse websites, compare prices, and fill out forms automatically. This AI assistant will help consumers find better deals, but will force retailers to compete more aggressively on price and customer experience.

• Real-time translation capabilities will allow Shopify merchants to serve customers in multiple South African languages without hiring translators. Google demonstrated live voice translation between Swahili and Zulu during the event. “In a country with such massive mobile penetration, this new feature is going to be groundbreaking in putting brands in the hands and hearts of consumers,” says Shepard.

• Gemini 2.5 Pro models can analyse customer data and predict purchasing patterns with human-like reasoning. Unlike previous AI that identified patterns, these models can explain their logic and make multi-step plans for marketing campaigns.

“This commitment to humanising the shopping process should serve to build trust for consumers, a crucial sentiment in building loyalty,” says Shepard.

Speaking at the event, country director for Google South Africa, Kabelo Makwane, said: “We believe in the immense potential of AI to transform businesses while uplifting the economy, and significantly improving lives across South Africa.” He said this was evident in additional health sector and educational commitments the global giant is intent on making in the region.

Competitive landscape shifts

The AI race between Google, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Meta is intensifying around e-commerce features. While Google focuses on search and shopping integration, ChatGPT is developing checkout capabilities that could bypass traditional e-commerce platforms. Meanwhile, Meta is building AI shopping directly into Instagram and Facebook.

TDMC’s analysis shows that businesses using all three platforms strategically are seeing 35% higher conversion rates compared to single-platform approaches. As Shepard elaborates: “The retail winners won’t be those who choose one AI platform. Their success requires understanding how Google’s search AI, Meta’s social commerce AI, and Shopify’s merchant tools work together – or investing with agencies that have the know-how and inroads with these providers to maximise these advancements on their behalf.”

Impact on South African market

For consumers, AI will enable:

• Voice-activated shopping in local languages
  
• Visual search using smartphone cameras
  
• Automatic reordering based on usage patterns

For merchants, the changes require:

• Dynamic pricing that responds to competitor moves
  
• Inventory management based on AI demand forecasting
  
• Marketing content generated and optimised by AI
  
• Generating product lifestyle imagery and product descriptions

Technical requirements

TDMC’s technical analysis identifies three immediate requirements for South African e-commerce businesses:

1. Data integration: Current marketing data must be consolidated. Google’s research shows marketers use an average of 18 different data sources, but 69% cannot unify this data effectively. “We are already seeing in the marketing world how Google and Meta are pushing integrating first party data, and with Shopify’s new integration, it is becoming more possible for everyone to use this feature and not rely on third party tools,” says Shepard.

2. Prompt engineering: Success with AI tools requires specific skills in writing instructions for AI systems. This represents a new core competency for marketing teams.

3. Platform optimisation: Shopify stores must be configured to work with Google’s AI advertising tools and Meta’s social commerce features.
   

The agency’s integrated approach combines Google’s search advertising AI with Meta’s social commerce capabilities and Shopify’s merchant tools. “We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation in e-commerce, our agility and first-to-know status is where our clients reap the rewards,” says Shepard.

AI action now

Shepard recommends South African e-commerce businesses take three immediate steps: