Sixty60, the on-demand grocery delivery platform built by Shoprite Group, has fulfilled over 100 million orders since its launch in November 2019.
This is according to Shoprite’s annual report, published on Monday. The retail giant’s board chair, Wendy Lucas-Bull, wrote in the report that the group’s investment in digital technologies is a key differentiator driving its market success.
“This year, we have expanded Sixty60’s reach to include general merchandise from Checkers Hyper stores, re-platformed the Sixty60 app and launched the Checkers e-commerce transactional website,” said Lucas-Bull.
“Shoprite’s investment in its store base, data, analytics and digital technology, including the recent rapid roll-out of our new point-of-sale system, continues to improve our customer experience and deliver measurable improvements across our operations.”
Sixty60 delivered 27% year-on-year growth in active digital customers in 2025, with revenues growing 48% to R18.9-billion compared to 2024. The Sixty60 app has been downloaded seven million times since launch, with 1.8 million of those downloads made in the 2025 financial year alone, driven partly by the increase, by 155, to 694 supported store locations.
Shoprite’s broader strategy is to drive an “omnichannel” shopping experience by encouraging customers to use both online and in-store shopping modes depending on their needs at the time. It said omnichannel customers outspend those who shop purely in-store by a multiple of 3.8x. Part of this may be attributable to the stickiness of the online platform, but the LSM categories of online shoppers also likely plays a big role.
Basket sizes growing
Shoprite data also shows that those customers shopping online through Sixty60 are transferring more of their shopping spend towards the digital platform over time, with basket sizes growing by nearly 5% in 2025. The number of customer visits to the app grew by similar percentages.
An important complement to the Sixty60 platform is the Xtra Savings loyalty programme. Xtra Savings allows registered customers to take advantage of specials to save money. In the financial year, Xtra Savings’ 33 million customers saved a combined R16.5-billion and contributed to 88% the group’s of merchandise revenue.
Read: How Shoprite is using AI to sell you more groceries
With more than 2 700 Xtra Savings card swipes every minute, the true value of the loyalty programme is in the customer data collected and how Shoprite uses it to enhance value for both shoppers and suppliers. It feeds the data analysis engine used to infer customer demand and inform suppliers on what stock to make available, in what quantities and at what time.
These insights are an alternative revenue source collected by the group’s digital innovation unit, Shoprite X. This so-called marketing and media revenue grew 37% year on year to R647-million over the reporting period.
On the customer-facing side, the same analytics drive a shift towards hyperpersonalised offerings based on shopping habits.
“Where previously retail success derived primarily from the quality of a company’s trading practices, today it’s increasingly about harnessing and managing data, with advanced analytics a significant differentiator. Our substantial investment in data, AI and cloud has allowed us to deliver precision retailing and provide personalised customer experiences, through optimum pricing, smarter promotions, improved forecasting and product assortment,” said the report.
In-store technology enhancements are helping, too. A point-of-sale upgrade – also led by Shoprite X – saw 3 153 stores and 34 218 till points completed over the period. Shoprite said the new user interface improves cashier transaction speed, financial oversight and customer experience.
To complement its machine learning-based store layout tool – explained in more detail by Shoprite Holdings chief technology officer Chris Short in this TechCentral interview – the group has developed an in-house computer vision tool designed to monitor and shorten queues at its stores.
Read: How AI is reshaping retail store layouts in South Africa
Among the group’s digital plans for the 2026 financial year are the modernisation of legacy systems and the improvement of its cybersecurity.
“Looking ahead to 2026, as the group continues to invest in South Africa, we anticipate capital expenditure in the region of R7.9-billion, directed towards the expansion and optimisation of our store base across formats, strengthening our supply chain and logistics network, and accelerating investment in digital and data-led activities,” said Shoprite Holdings chief financial officer Anton de Bruyn. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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