Checkers Sixty60 Leads Shoprite to Record Half-Year Sales Growth

The South African retail giant, Shoprite, has witnessed a significant triumph in its business operations, largely attributed to the remarkable performance of its Checkers Sixty60 delivery service. During the first half of the 2023/24 financial year, the retailer not only enjoyed a 13.9% increase in sales, amounting to about R121 billion but also saw its online delivery platform scale new heights with a growth of 63.1% in sales.

Checkers Sixty60 has become the beacon of modern retail success in South Africa, consistently grabbing market share and redefining convenience for consumers. Launched in November 2019, the platform experienced rapid acceleration in downloads, hitting over 3.1 million by March 2023 and extending its footprint to 466 stores as of September 2023. Starting from select neighborhoods in Sandton, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, it managed an impressive expansion, particularly as the nation grappled with the challenges of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Shoprite's adoption of the app, developed by Zulzi—a pioneer in South Africa's fast-moving consumer goods applications—played a pivotal role in its expansion. Zulzi's experience merged with Shoprite's retail expertise, offering unparalleled convenience and efficiency to the South African consumer.

Another cornerstone in the success story of Shoprite, and by extension Checkers Sixty60, has been the integration of SAP's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. This investment has paid off by ensuring that the products in brick-and-mortar stores seamlessly align with what customers find on the Sixty60 app, in terms of price, promotions, and availability.

The implementation of SAP's retail solutions was a game-changer for Shoprite's operations. Despite an initial stumbling block where the ERP rollout was cited as a factor in a disappointing earnings report in 2019, causing lost sales due to supply constraints, the technology has since proven its worth. With SAP Retail as the backbone for real-time sales data and stock ledger, the accuracy of order fulfillment improved dramatically, further pushing the success of Sixty60.

While Shoprite's journey with SAP hasn't been without its hurdles, the upgrades completed in January 2019 have since borne fruit, reflecting in the improved operations and sales figures. Shoprite's robust performance is especially noteworthy in contrast with Spar's troubles, which indicated a significant R1.6 billion hit in turnover due to its SAP project issues.

The differentiation in retail has become starkly clear, with Shoprite cementing its place in the South African market as an innovator and leader. This strategic combination of technology and a scalable business model has positioned Shoprite and its subsidiaries on a winning streak, one that continues to defy market challenges and propel the retailer to new heights.

Notably, the individual growth figures reported by other facets of Shoprite's business are also impressive. Checkers and Checkers Hyper achieved a 13.7% growth, while Shoprite and Usave saw a 13.1% increase. Even more striking is the LiquorShop's leap of 25.2% in sales, all contributing to an unbroken 58-month streak of market share gains among the core South African supermarket brands under the Shoprite umbrella.

The company's winning streak serves as a testament to Shoprite's ability to leverage technology effectively and adapt to the evolving consumer landscape. As Shoprite continues to evolve and embrace digital innovation, the marketplace can expect more strategic movements from the retailer in maintaining its competitive edge.