Lifestyle

Cheapest retailer for groceries in South Africa right now – Woolies vs Checkers vs Pick n Pay and more

Staff Writer

 ·18 Dec 2023

Makro remains the most affordable option for essential items among the top seven grocery retailers in South Africa as of 18 December 2023.

This is according to BusinessTech’s grocery basket comparison, which collected the online prices of nine staple foods and products from seven major retailers – Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Woolworths, Food Lover’s Market, and Makro.

The grocery basket comparison now includes:

• 700g loaf of Albany Superior sliced white bread, or store-brand
• 2-litre sunflower oil (cheapest option)
• 2.5kg Iwisa maize meal
• 2.5kg Selati white sugar
• 2-litre milk (cheapest option)
• 2kg Tastic rice
• 2.5kg Snowflake cake flour
• 175g bar of Dettol herbal soap
• 9-pack of two-ply Baby Soft toilet paper (or store brand).

In some cases, store-brand alternatives are used because some stores only keep the store-brand versions of those items.

The comparison covers the various retailers in several areas within Gauteng. In almost all cases, it is possible to find any of these products at a lower price or to find cheaper alternatives, depending on location or time of the month.

According to our data, the average cost for our basket of nine staple items in December was R418, which is slightly more expensive than November (R415).

Makro offered the cheapest basket in December 2023, totalling R385.81. This is R10.98 less than the second cheapest retailer – Food Lover’s Market (R396.79).

Woolworths had the most expensive basket at R439.91, which is R54.10 more than Makro. It must be noted that Spar is franchised, meaning prices and items can vary from store to store.

The table below gives the breakdown of prices for each item from the eight grocery retailers and who comes out as the cheapest.

The latest food basket data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group (PMBEJD) shows that food prices in South Africa continue to climb – with vegetables still showing double-digit hikes.

Across the 44 food items tracked by the group, only three came down in price, year-on-year, and one item remained flat. The balance (40 items) went up.

While measuring data a month later than Stats SA’s basket, the 9.9% increase is higher than the latest recorded CPI for food, which came in at 8.7% in October from 8.1% in September and 8.0% in August.

19 of the 44 items in the basket are still showing double-digit price jumps compared to a year ago, and nine of these items are more than 20% higher. All of these high-increase food items are fruits, pantry essentials, and vegetables.

On the other side of the equation, three food items have actually come down in price – onions (-15%), cooking oil (-14%), and meat pieces (-3%).

Read: Good news for braai lovers this Christmas – with a warning for 2024