Shoprite Group launches digital business hub, ShopriteX, to create more personalised shopping experiences

South African retail giant Shoprite Group has launched a digital business hub named ShopriteX which seeks to combine data science, technology and innovation with its operational strength to provide increasingly enhanced customer experiences. 

ShopriteX states that it has already delivered two industry-leading innovations – Xtra Savings, South Africa’s fastest-growing rewards programme with 20 million members to date, and Checkers Sixty60 the first on-demand 60-minute supermarket grocery delivery service in South Africa.  

The company says that consumer response on both counts has been unrivalled, with Xtra Savings Rewards signing up over 20 million members, and Sixty60 becoming the number one grocery app in the country with over 1.5 million app downloads to date.

Innovations such as Sixty60 and Xtra Savings have seen the company win 17 innovation awards in the last year.

The launch is part of the Group’s strategy to grow its ecosystem of value for consumers and monetise new and diverse revenue streams.

ShopriteX currently has about 250 employees and works with the Group’s IT team (combined a team of over 1 000 people) to create and implement new innovations. ShopriteX offices are located above the new Checkers Hyper Brackenfell flagship store next to the Group’s home office.

The new offices are also home to the latest retail innovation, Checkers Rush, an automated, cashless “no queues, no checkout, no waiting” concept store, where employees can grab products and walk out. Using advanced AI camera technology to identify the products being taken off the shelves, Checkers Rush bills users’ bank cards upon exit.

“Shoprite to the power of X represents the exponential growth opportunity when you combine the best of data, tech and talent with the scale of the Shoprite Group. We are solving real retail challenges with the country’s brightest minds. Through a culture of innovation and startup-like pace, the teams are making grocery shopping more personalised for customers whilst removing friction from the retail experience.”

– Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation, who heads up ShopriteX

“We are serious about being Africa’s most customer-centric retailer, and the launch of ShopriteX represents our investment in fit-for-the-future retail, which is increasingly digital and data-led.”

– Chief Executive, Pieter Engelbrecht