How to Build an Email List for Your Online Store in South Africa

6 min read  ·  October 2026  ·  For growing stores

Most people who visit your store today will leave without buying. That’s normal. The real question is whether you’ll ever get to speak to them again.

“Isn’t email a bit 2009?”

Let’s be honest, email isn’t the exciting part of running an online store. Reels get the views, WhatsApp gets the replies and TikTok gets the overnight success stories. Email sits in the corner like the dependable uncle at a family lunch. Nobody posts about him, but he’s the one who actually shows up to help you move house.

Here’s why. Picture your favourite little coffee shop. The barista knows your name, and next to the till there’s a loyalty card with your number on it. When the new winter menu comes out, they don’t hang a poster in the street and hope you walk past. They send you a message. That loyalty card is the most valuable thing in the shop, more than the fancy machine, because it means they can bring you back whenever they like.

Your email list is that loyalty card. Your Instagram followers are people walking past the window. The algorithm decides how many of them see your post, and if the account gets hacked or restricted, they’re gone. The people on your email list belong to your business. Nobody can switch them off because a platform changed its mind on a Tuesday.

Why bother if most people don’t buy?

Truth be told, that’s exactly why you bother. A shopper finds your store on her lunch break, likes the dress, adds it to her cart and then her boss walks in. She closes the tab and, by Friday, she’s forgotten your store’s name. Without her email address, that sale is gone for good. With it, you can remind her, tell her when payday stock lands, or let her know the dress is back in her size.

A store without an email list is basically paying for the same visitor over and over, through ads, through posts, through hoping she stumbles on you again. A store with an email list pays for her once and keeps the conversation going. Not hard to pick which one you’d rather run.

Where do the sign-ups actually come from?

Let’s unpack this. People won’t hunt for your newsletter, so put the sign-up wherever they already are and keep it short. An email address is plenty. Nobody wants to fill in their ID number to hear about your candle sale.

• A sign-up box on your store: On BeNimble, the Mailing List extension adds a subscribe form to your site and keeps every address in one list you can export to CSV or Excel whenever you need it.
• A friendly popup: Show it once, after someone has had a proper look around, not the second they land. A popup that jumps out before the page has loaded is the online version of a salesperson grabbing your arm at the door. Not ideal!
• At checkout: Your buyers are already typing in their details. A clear, unticked “Keep me posted on new stock and specials” option is the easiest yes you’ll ever get.
• In the parcel: Pop a small card in every order with a QR code to your sign-up page. Someone who loves what just arrived is in the perfect mood to hear from you again.
• Face to face: At a market or pop-up, keep a QR code on the table. A tablet with a sign-up form works too, as long as you ask before you add anyone.

“Why would anyone give me their email?”

Because you give them a good reason. “Subscribe to our newsletter” is about as tempting as a lukewarm cup of rooibos. “Get 10% off your first order” is a lot more interesting.

A small discount on the first order is the classic, and BeNimble makes it easy: link a discount code to the Mailing List extension and every new subscriber automatically gets their own once-off code, valid for seven days. Somewhere between 5% and 10% is usually enough. Free delivery on a first order works brilliantly too, because in South Africa the delivery fee is often the thing that makes people hesitate at checkout. You can also offer early access to a sale or first dibs on a new range, which costs you nothing.

One word of warning. If every single email has a discount in it, you’re teaching your list to wait for the next one before they buy anything. Use discounts to start the relationship, not to run it.

The POPIA bit (don’t skip this one)

Look, nobody gets into eCommerce because they love privacy law. But POPIA applies to your email list, and section 69 covers direct marketing by email. In plain terms, people who haven’t bought from you need to say yes before you email them marketing, and everyone needs an easy way to say no.

• Ask clearly: Say what people are signing up for, like “new stock, specials and the odd behind-the-scenes story”.
• Never pre-tick the box: Consent means they ticked it, not that they forgot to untick it.
• Unsubscribe in every email: And when someone leaves, stop emailing them straight away.
• Never buy or scrape lists: Bought lists are full of people who never asked to hear from you. They don’t open, they mark you as spam, and they put you on the wrong side of the law.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. If you’re unsure about your own situation, chat to someone who knows POPIA properly.

Okay, they signed up. Now what?

Send a welcome email straight away, while they still remember who you are. Deliver whatever you promised, say hello like a human, and tell them what to expect and how often. Show them two or three of your best sellers and remind them how delivery and returns work. That first email usually gets more opens than anything else you’ll ever send, so make it count.

After that, a few emails can mostly run themselves:

• The forgotten cart: Remember our lunch-break shopper? BeNimble’s Abandoned Cart Recovery extension sends her a friendly reminder that her dress is still waiting. Often that’s all the nudge she needs.
• The thank you: After an order arrives, say thanks and ask for a review. Happy customers are glad to help. They just won’t think of it unless you ask.
• The “it’s back” email: When a popular item comes back into stock, tell your list before you post it anywhere else. Your subscribers get first dibs, and they learn that being on your list pays off.
• The “we miss you” email: If a customer hasn’t bought in three or four months, send something warm with a reason to come back, like a new range or a small thank you.

Beyond that, one regular email every week or two is plenty for most small stores. Keep each one about one thing, with one clear button, and check it on your phone before you send it, because that’s where most of your list will read it.

Keep the list clean

A bigger list isn’t always a better list. Two hundred people who open your emails and buy from you are worth far more than five thousand who never read a word. Every few months, send a quick “still keen to hear from us?” email to people who haven’t opened anything in a long time, and let go of the ones who don’t answer. It feels strange removing subscribers, but your emails are more likely to land in the inbox instead of the spam folder when the people receiving them actually want them.

Wrap it up

An email list is the slow, steady part of your marketing. It won’t go viral and nobody will ever comment “🔥🔥🔥” under your welcome email. But every name on it is someone who put their hand up and said “tell me more”, and you can speak to them whenever you like without paying for the privilege.

So here’s your move for this week. Switch on a sign-up form, link a small first-order discount to it, and write your welcome email. Three jobs, one evening, and the loyalty card is on the counter.

And yes, signing up your mom counts as subscriber number one. Just make sure she ticked the box herself.

Naomi
BeNimble Team