Walmart has announced that its next South African store will open in Boksburg on the East Rand, with the launch scheduled for the first quarter of 2026.

The US retailer entered the local market with two stores in November 2025, opening outlets at Clearwater Mall in Roodepoort and Fourways Mall in Johannesburg. While Walmart has not disclosed the exact site of the upcoming Boksburg store, both existing locations were created in former Game premises, offering a possible indication of where the new outlet could be based.

The Game store at East Point Shopping Centre in Boksburg, adjacent to East Rand Mall, has been closed since July 2025. Although staff previously suggested on a local Facebook community group that the space would be converted into a Makro store, that plan has not come to fruition.

Massmart, Walmart’s South African subsidiary, said it will share further details about its long-term strategy in the country during the second quarter of 2026. The group also confirmed that, unlike its Game brand, it does not intend to expand the Walmart format into other African markets in the medium term.

According to Massmart, the focus remains on growing its presence within South Africa, but without publicly disclosing specific expansion plans. The company noted that maintaining confidentiality while coordinating with landlords, suppliers and contractors has been a key challenge, and it thanked its partners for their strong support and flexibility during store rollouts.

Walmart said its everyday low price strategy remains central to building customer trust, adding that regular price checks against competitors show it has maintained a consistent pricing advantage on selected products since launch.

Expanding ranges and faster delivery

Popular items among local Walmart shoppers include imported snacks and beverages such as Pop-Tarts, Sour Patch sweets, Reese’s chocolate bars and various Dr Pepper flavours. Massmart said the retailer will continue to update its product mix across local, international and private-label ranges.

Seasonal offerings are also expected to remain a focus. During the recent back-to-school period, Walmart stocked items such as stationery, school bags, lunchboxes and ready-made lunch options, with similar initiatives planned for other key times of the year.

To compete with rapid delivery services from rivals like Checkers Sixty60 and Pick n Pay Asap, Walmart has introduced 60-minute express delivery for customers living within 5km of a store. The service is accessed through the Walmart Africa mobile app. While there are no immediate plans to expand the delivery radius, the company said it will continue to assess how best to serve customers.

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