Dr. Makhosazane Buthelezi is a Lecturer in the Department of Marketing and Retail Management at the Durban University of Technology and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Wholesale and Retail SETA at the University of Johannesburg (2024/5). She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Management Sciences, specialising in Retail, the first awarded in this field at DUT.

She brings together over five years of academic experience and more than three years in the retail industry, complemented by leadership on industry-funded projects. Notably, she is currently a Project Leader for the DUT BankSETA-funded initiative, advancing skills development and bursary support in the sector.

Her research focuses on digital transformation in retail, customer experience, sustainable consumption, data-driven retailing, consumer behaviour and retail strategy development. She has published in DHET-accredited journals and contributed to international edited volumes on digital transformation and retail strategy. She is also a member of the BRICS Research Institute’s Community of Practice (CoP) on BRICS Entrepreneurship and Economics, strengthening her contribution to global academic and policy dialogues.