Huge Checkers Sixty60 update launches in South Africa

Checkers has rolled out the new Sixty60 app to millions of shoppers across South Africa.

Following months of testing, the new app has a refined layout and user interface. It also features multi-factor authentication to enhance security.

On top of groceries and essentials, the new app offers shoppers in eligible areas precision delivery of products from selected Checkers Hyper stores nationwide.  

Over 10,000 larger general merchandise products are now on offer for same-day delivery, within precise sixty-minute slots. This allows customers to avoid inconvenient all-day delivery times usually associated with household items. 

“After intensive development, we’re confident that the next iteration of Sixty60 will again disrupt online retail in South Africa,” said Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation for the Shoprite Group.

“Our precision delivery promise has been designed around our customers, which means no more waiting at home all day for your general merchandise order to arrive.”

“Customers choose the 60-minute time slot for their Hyper delivery to arrive and can track the order in real-time as it gets delivered in a flash,” said Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation for the Shoprite Group.  

“Our homegrown innovation teams are powering our drive to become Africa’s most profitable omnichannel retailer.”

With general merchandise household products now being offered on-demand nationwide, Checkers Sixty60 has also added 2,500 additional premium products – available exclusively on the Sixty60 app – for delivery in Cape Town.

Some of the 100 new brands include Apple, Dyson, Thule, Smeg, Samsung, and Harmon Kardon. More are added over the coming months.  

The national rollout of the extended premium ranges will come out in a phased approach and is currently available in the following areas in Cape Town:

• Kuils River,
• Brackenfell,
• Durbanville,
• Bellville,
• Goodwood,
• Edgemead,
• Milnerton,
• Century City,
• Table View,
• Blouberg,
• Parklands,
• Rondebosch,
• Observatory,
• Gardens,
• Sea Point and
• Camps Bay. 

“With the new Sixty60 app, we’re again raising the bar for online shopping in South Africa and further demonstrating our commitment to customers who demand more convenience and improved access to premium products,” said Schreuder  

Hyper products on Sixty60 will also qualify for free delivery until the end of 2024 as part of the launch. 

Ownership changes

In related news affecting Checkers Sixty60, Shoprite looks set to take control of Pingo, the company that provides last-mile logistics and employs roughly 6,000 Sixty60 drivers.

In October, the Competition Tribunal unconditionally approved the proposed transaction in which Shoprite would acquire Pingo.

Shoprite is in the process of a comprehensive due diligence review of Pingo as per the acquisition’s process amidst serious questions about the company’s hiring practices.

Speaking at Shoprite’s Annual General Meeting, the group’s chairperson, Wendy Lucas-Bull, admitted that foreigners make up the majority of the company’s drivers, with South Africans only making up 23% of the delivery workforce.

Lucas-Bull said the company is actively recruiting South African drivers, with multiple training centres and a 10-week training programme.

That said, only 8% of South African trainees have been retained after two years.

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