South African retailers have observed a significant shift in consumer behaviour, prompting them to adapt in order to stay competitive.
Speaking to BusinessTech, the group said that some of the most notable recent changes that they have noticed include “consumers stretching their budgets, and how they shop for food and essentials has changed.”Customers buying more combo deals and often opting for collective buying; Customers have seen “a combined R8.4 billion in instant cash savings at Shoprite and Checkers supermarkets in the last six months,” said the group. The Shoprite group said it has observed that middle-to-higher-income customers are increasingly seeking value without compromising on quality and freshness.
This will expand its item listing to over 10,000 larger Hyper products in hopes of being fierce competitors to likes of other online retailers offering similar larger items, like Takealot and Amazon.Since April 2016, Checkers has increased its premium FreshX store count to over 87 and has introduced new private label brands such as Simple Truth and Forage & Feast, enhancing its product range.
The group’s other store, Shoprite, has been looking to become South Africa’s go-to low price grocery store.