By: Nick Wilson – News24

Shoprite will be officially launching Sixty60 at some of its namesake brand's supermarkets later this month as SA's largest retailer looks to bring the popular on-demand grocery delivery service to its lower-income customers.

The retailer said in a statement that it would be launching the platform in 19 Shoprite stores across eight provinces later this month after a successful pilot in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

It indicated the rollout would be conducted in a measured way in phases so that each new location "delivers the excellence and efficiency that has become synonymous with Sixty60".

Shoprite Sixty60 is  "already up and running" at the brand's stores in Atlantis in the Western Cape, along with its Jabulani store in Soweto in Gauteng. It said the expansion into other areas of SA would kick off with the launch of Shoprite's Sixty60 platform in Kleinmond in the Western Cape and Ga-Nala, Mpumalanga later this month.

Simon Brown, who heads up Just One Lap, said extending Sixty60 to Shoprite stores is "just clever".

"It's an easy win for them. They've got a product that has worked in the background so that does come through as a seriously smart move in that regard."

Brown also expected the rollout to be smooth and cost-effective as the group already had the infrastructure in place for it.

Shoprite's chief of strategy and innovation, Neil Schreuder, said the platform could have a "meaningful impact for consumers needing the convenience of home delivery, and where the logistics are in place to support a seamless experience".

The Sixty60 platform, which was first launched at Checkers in 2019, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity, with shoppers in the middle to top end of the market. In fact, in its results for the year to end-June 2024, Shoprite reported sales from the app had grown 58%, off an already high base that saw a more than 81% spike previously.

It was one of the major disruptors in the South African retail segment and is widely seen as one of the key apps that sped up the adoption of online shopping in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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