In May, to fill a grocery basket up with 9 staple items, the retailer Makro proved to be the cheapest when compared to seven other stores in South Africa.
According to data from Outlierafrica, which looks at in-store prices of the same basket of goods across eight major retailers, Makro ranked as the cheapest store to buy goods from, with the most expensive being Spar, for the month of April 2023.
The basket is made up of basic goods that most people are likely to have in their homes and use every day.
The current list includes the below items:
- 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 toilet paper (cheapest option)
For the month of April, Makro had also come out tops with the cheapest basket, totalling R393.60.
“We are increasingly seeing that consumers are realigning their shopping habits and adopting cost-cutting behaviours. Understanding our customers and giving them what they need is core to our business. The increasing inflation and cost of living mean that we need to constantly be finding ways of ensuring our customers get the best deals in the market and allow them to get more for less”, Kevin Maier, merchandise vice-president: food for Makro told Business Report.
Our May grocery basket costs between R382 and R419 to buy nine staple items including bread, milk, toilet paper and sunflower oil 🛒 Read more: https://t.co/duehiuGXMk pic.twitter.com/eVLY1dfAEa
— The Outlier (@outlierafrica) June 12, 2023
Meanwhile, it was announced last week that labour union South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) and Makro, a subsidiary of Massmart, finally signed a wage deal, ending more than a year-long strike after negotiations stalled.
The strike took 14 months to conclude.
The parties have agreed on a multi-year agreement, which would cover the 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025 financial years.
The agreement was facilitated through a CCMA Section 150 intervention, the union said in a statement.
BUSINESS REPORT