What’s Happening in Retail 2025

Amazon launches delivery windows in South Africa – but still no Prime

Adding key delivery slots is a great convience factor for customers especially over the festive season, however what I think customers are really wanting is the one thing that they are still not offering in SA – Amazon Prime.

4 November, 2025

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Walmart lands in Joburg

Walmart’s first own-branded store in South Africa will launch in Johannesburg.

It will stock products largely sourced from local suppliers, but this will be complemented by a “curated selection of global brands”

The main focus is on making shoppers pleasantly surprised by options that bring interest and excitement to their everyday shopping experience

30 October, 2025

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Grocery wars: Spar supercharges Uber Eats partnership

It will be interesting if this can compete with Sixty60. It may be challenging to compete with Sixty60’s R99 monthly delivery fee deal, which offers unlimited deliveries for the month. However, it will definitely come in handy for areas that may not have access to Sixty60 yet, and Spar is available.

14 October, 2025

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Walmart may turn to tech to outsmart savvy South African rivals

The only way Walmart will truly gain momentum and profit share is by pushing lower everyday prices and better availability in groceries and household goods.

Competition will be tough from current retailers that have a strong grasp on South African customers’ shopping habits already.

14 September, 2025

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Walmart to open SA stores under its own brand, with gadgets and groceries side by side

Wallmart is on the move again in South Africa and will be branching out with new stores with its own brands this time.

9 September, 2025

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Checkers rolls out smart trolleys to kill the checkout queue

The game just becomes increasingly interesting. Never a dull moment in Sixty60 lineup.

20 August 2025

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From Bottles to battle: how Pick n Pay is turning to tech in retail fight

Pick n Pay is not giving up the fight that easily and continues to integrate new innovations to regain customer loyalty.

11 August, 2025

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South Africa outlines support measures in response to US tariffs

Big changes ahead for SA trade. From August 8, U.S. tariffs on South African exports jump to 30%.

4 August, 2025

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Takealot taps Mr D to deliver toys, pet food and future growth

Takealot Group is ramping up on-demand delivery using it’s Mr D takeaway food platform to handle pet supplies, toys, and other items to rise above the competition.

18 July, 2025

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China’s Temu ups ante with South African warehouse launch

Not exactly something that the big ecommerce retailers were expecting to occur (or maybe they were).

9 July, 2025

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Takealot considering mass hiring of former Post Office staff

The race is on: Takealot continues to look to expand its horizons. Always a wonderful outcome if more people get jobs.

3 July, 2025

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TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

This article gives you a picture of the Spar group’s broader omnichannel strategy, where the retailer is positioned in the market, where it wants to get to, and how it plans to do it.

3 July 2025

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Who let the dogs order? Sixty60 now delivers for Fido

We all love our pets ….

18 June, 2025

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Shein and Temu feel the heat as South Africa closes tax loophole

Would be interesting to see some real stats from customs into SA from these retailers to see if it has realistically made a difference to their sales.

8 June, 2025

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Spar plots comeback with click-to-door groceries, own brands

Spar has had a busy start to 2025 and continues to push new strategies for the brand.

4 June, 2025

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Amazon turns up the heat on Takealot

We all knew that they would continue to expand and there strategy was always test the market first and execute based on response.

3 June, 2025

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Shoprite’s Sixty60 app now ‘talks’ to blind users

ShopriteX has collaborated with Blind SA to develop tools to help visually impaired users shop online.

They have also made several other improvements to general shopping features on the APP.

 

13 May 2025

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Standard Bank partners with Sixty60 for up to 40% back

I somehow missed this important payment partnership’s official launch.

Standard Bank has partnered with Checkers to offer UCount Rewards members with up to 40% back on shopping on Checkers Sixty60 and up to 30% back in-store. This partnership officially launched on Wednesday, 16 April 2025.

16 April 2025

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Temu partners with Eurofins to boost global product quality and safety standards

This move could boost consumer trust, ensure safer product standards, and potentially raise the bar for local e-commerce expectations.

It’s a clear signal that Temu is serious about long-term growth in markets like ours, among many others

7 April, 2025

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Retailability Sells Legit, Swagga, Style and Boardmans to Pepkor

Retailability (Pty) Ltd has agreed to sell its Legit, Swagga, Style, and Boardmans brands to Pepkor, the transaction includes 462 stores across South Africa. This move allows Pepkor to strengthen its position in the adult clothing market, while Retailability focuses on expanding its Edgars brand and related businesses.

31 March, 2025

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Takealot franchise initiative targets township economy

Takealot.com Launches Franchise Program for Townships.

Takealot is rolling out a new franchise programme to support small businesses in townships like Soshanguve and Mamelodi.

26 March, 2025

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TFG deepens integration between its digital, physical retail

TFG (The Foschini Group) is expanding its Bash platform to over 3,000 stores, integrating digital and physical retail.

This allows customers to browse and order products from all TFG brands in-store, enhancing the shopping experience by combining digital convenience with physical retail.

26 March, 2025

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Hyper-personalisation is next up in eBucks, Pick n Pay pact

Pick n Pay and FNB South Africa are enhancing their partnership to offer hyper-personalized rewards through FNB’s eBucks program. By analyzing customer spending behavior, they aim to tailor rewards more precisely, encouraging increased shopping at Pick n Pay stores.

 

18 March, 2025

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Cravings at midnight? SA retailer launches ‘after dark’ delivery

Woolworths has announced it will trial an “after dark” delivery service in partnership with Uber Eats and Engen Quickshop.

This service will allow customers to place orders for late-night deliveries. This aims to increase convenience for shoppers needing groceries and essentials outside of regular retail hours.

10 March, 2025

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Checkers Sixty60 launches on the web – no app required

Checkers Sixty60 has launched a web-based platform, allowing customers to place orders without relying on the mobile app. Since its 2019 launch, the service has experienced rapid growth, with an 81% year-on-year sales increase. Interestingly, tapping into the Huawei database could further expand its app user base, presenting a significant growth opportunity.

5 March, 2025

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Fashion retailer Truworths flags profit decline on lower sales in Africa unit

Truworths a retailer that we don’t mention often has projected up to an 8% drop in half-year profit, primarily due to reduced sales and gross profit margins in its African division.

31 January, 2025

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Leroy Merlin, AfriGIS to build South Africa’s first integrated services marketplace

Leroy Merlin is launching the first integrated services marketplace, combining product sales with on-demand services.

28 January, 2025

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Checkers taking over Pick n Pay stores across South Africa

Shoprite continue to take Market share to become the supermarket leader in SA.

 

6 January, 2025

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