Makro remains the most affordable among the top seven grocery retailers in South Africa for essential items as of 15 January 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is according to BusinessTech\u2019s grocery basket comparison, which collected the online prices of nine staple foods and products from seven major retailers \u2013 Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Woolworths, Food Lover\u2019s Market, and Makro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grocery basket comparison now includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, store-brand alternatives are used because some stores only keep the store-brand versions of those items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to our data, the average cost for our basket of nine staple items in January was R412, which is slightly less expensive than in December 2023 (R418).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Makro offered the cheapest basket in January 2024, totalling R385.36<\/strong>, which was R1.45 less than last month. This is also R18.55 less than the second cheapest retailer \u2013 Shoprite (R403.91).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Woolworths had the most expensive basket at R439.91<\/strong>, which remained the same from last month and is R54.55 more than Makro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Spar was the third cheapest retailer (R404.91), but it must be noted that Spar is franchised, meaning prices and items can vary from store to store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The table below gives the breakdown of prices for each item from the eight grocery retailers and who comes out as the cheapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest food basket data from the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) shows that food prices in South Africa continued a declining trend in food inflation, which should continue into 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the 44 food items tracked by the group, five came down in price, year-on-year, and one item remained flat. The balance (39 items) went up, albeit by smaller increments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Year-on-year food price inflation is still higher than headline inflation recorded by Stats SA but is showing a downward trend. The basket inflation in November was at 9.9% that month, meaning year-on-year prices have eased by as much as two whole percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 23 food items of the basket of 44 still saw double-digit growth year-on-year, reflecting significant increases. Eight of these saw prices jump over 20%:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other side of the equation, the five food items that have actually come down in price include onions (-27%), cooking oil (-13%), Maize meal (-7%), Beef (-2%), and Beef liver (-1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\nItem<\/th> Checkers<\/th> Pick n Pay<\/th> Woolworths<\/th> Spar<\/th> Shoprite<\/th> Makro<\/th> Food Lover\u2019s<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> White Bread<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R18.99<\/td> R18.99<\/td> R19.99<\/td> R19.45<\/td><\/tr> Sunflower oil<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R69.99<\/td> R74.99<\/td> R64.95<\/td> R74.99<\/td><\/tr> Maize meal<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R41.49<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R35.99<\/td> R29.95<\/td> R36.99<\/td><\/tr> White Sugar<\/td> R64.99<\/td> R64.99<\/td> R61.99<\/td> R64.99<\/td> R59.99<\/td> R53.58<\/td> R62.99<\/td><\/tr> Milk<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R38.99<\/td> R34.99<\/td> R32.99<\/td> R35.95<\/td> R29.99<\/td><\/tr> Rice<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R49.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R41.95<\/td> R47.99<\/td><\/tr> Flour<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R41.99<\/td> R42.99<\/td> R39.99<\/td> R45.95<\/td> R40.99<\/td><\/tr> Soap<\/td> R18.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R17.99<\/td> R18.99<\/td> R16.95<\/td> R14.49<\/td><\/tr> Toilet paper<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R74.99<\/td> R96.99<\/td> R69.99<\/td> R79.99<\/td> R71.00<\/td> R79.95<\/td><\/tr> Total <\/strong><\/td> R422.91<\/strong><\/td> R419.41<\/strong><\/td> R439.91<\/mark><\/strong><\/td> R404.91<\/strong><\/td> R403.91<\/strong><\/td> R385.36<\/mark><\/strong><\/td> R407.84<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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