South Africa’s biggest retailer has increased employee pay by an average of R5,000 per year since 2016
South African retail giant Shoprite has increased its average employee remuneration by roughly R5,000 a year since 2016.
This wage growth over the past nine years has outpaced inflation while the company continued to expand its workforce.
Founded in 1966 when its first store opened in Wynberg, Shoprite has grown from an eight-store grocery chain in the Western Cape into Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods retailer.
The group now operates more than 3,600 stores across the continent and employs nearly 170,000 people.
BusinessTech analysed Shoprite’s annual reports from 2016 to 2025, and found that the company’s average remuneration increased from R75,122 per year in 2016 to R120,162 in 2025.
This represents a total increase of R45,040 over the period, equivalent to an average rise of more than R5,000 a year.
On a monthly basis, the average remuneration increased from approximately R6,260 in 2016 to R10,014 in 2025.
The figures were calculated by dividing total employee remuneration by total staff numbers, then converting the annual amount to a monthly average.
As a blended average, the calculation includes everyone from entry-level store workers to senior executives and management.
The increase amounts to a remuneration growth of around 60% over the nine-year period, exceeding cumulative inflation of 50.8% over the same period.
The data also showed that growth in average remuneration has occurred alongside significant job creation. Shoprite’s workforce increased from 137,775 employees in 2016 to 168,939 employees in 2025.
In 2025 alone, the group added 8,723 direct jobs, bringing total employment to more than 168,000 people.
According to the company, many of these positions were first-time employment opportunities designed to provide work experience and training for unemployed South Africans.
The rapid expansion in headcount helps explain why the average remuneration figure declined slightly from R122,362 in 2024 to R120,162 in 2025, despite total employee compensation increasing.
Here is the breakdown of the average monthly wage based on the data in the integrated reports:
| Year | Total Employees | Total Remuneration | Average Annual Wage | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 137,775 | R10.35 billion | R75,122 | – |
| 2017 | 143,802 | R10.80 billion | R75,103 | -R19 |
| 2018 | 147,478 | R11.40 billion | R77,300 | +R2,197 |
| 2019 | 147,268 | R12.50 billion | R84,879 | +R7,579 |
| 2020 | 141,452 | R12.60 billion | R89,076 | +R4,197 |
| 2021 | 142,602 | R13.70 billion | R96,072 | +R6,996 |
| 2022 | 145,595 | R14.80 billion | R101,652 | +R5,580 |
| 2023 | 153,726 | R17.06 billion | R110,977 | +R9,325 |
| 2024 | 156,911 | R19.20 billion | R122,362 | +R11,385 |
| 2025 | 168,939 | R20.30 billion | R120,162 | -R2,200 |
| Average increase per year | +R5,004 |
Massive employee benefit drive over the years
As more entry-level positions were added, employee numbers grew faster than the overall remuneration pool.
The total amount paid in salaries and benefits increased from R19.2 billion in 2024 to R20.3 billion in 2025. Shoprite stated that no salaries were reduced during the period.
For the 2025 financial year, reflected in the company’s 2026 remuneration review, general staff and bargaining-unit employees received annual wage increases of 8.0%, while management received increases of 5.5%.
Shoprite has also maintained wage levels above the national minimum wage. By 2025, general assistants earned an average of R32.43 per hour, which was 12.6% above the national minimum wage. Cashiers earned an average of R31.85 per hour, or 9.4% above the minimum.
Over the past several years, the retailer has introduced additional employee benefits. In 2022, it established the Shoprite Employee Trust.
This is an evergreen, broad-based black economic empowerment employee trust that holds 40 million shares on behalf of qualifying employees.
The trust distributes benefits linked to shareholder dividends and has paid out more than R1 billion to eligible employees by October 2025.
The company has also prioritised larger wage increases for frontline staff than for management and expanded employee discount programmes across its retail businesses.
Additionally, the retailer has introduced interest-free earned wage access through a partnership with Paymenow and launched a wellness programme that provides free counselling and advisory services to employees and their families.
The remuneration growth comes as Shoprite continues to expand its operations across South Africa, thanks to Checkers Sixty60.
In its latest interim results, CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said the group increased sales from continuing operations by 7.2% to approximately R136.8 billion.
This was supported by growth across its supermarket brands and the continued expansion of its Checkers Sixty60 on-demand delivery platform.
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