Massmart’s Makro has proven to be the cheapest retailer for consumers to fill up their grocery baskets with basic items for the third month in a row.
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 Pick n Pay, for the month of June 2023.
The basket is made up of basic goods that most people are likely to have in their homes and use every day.
The prices of 12 products from eight major retailers: Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Food Lover’s Market, Woolworths, Makro and Boxer Superstores were collected for the price comparison.
“As of June 2023, for example, we’re no longer comparing the price of a 9-pack of two-ply toilet paper. Instead, we’ve added four new items to the basket, bringing it to a total of 12 items,” the Outlier said.
The new items on the list are 500g Fatti’s & Moni’s spaghetti, or store brand, 400g smooth Black Cat peanut butter, 1kg Jungle Oats and 100 Joko tagless teabags.
The full Outlier grocery basket contains:
- 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
- 500g Fatti’s and Moni’s spaghetti
- 400g smooth Black Cat peanut butter
- 1kg Jungle Oats
- 100 tagless Joko teabags
For the third month in a row, Makro topped the list as the cheapest retailer to fill up a grocery basket with the above items, costing R450.99.
Shoprite and Food Lover’s placed second and third respectively, costing R463.88 and R474.30.
Pick n Pay was the most expensive store in the comparison, costing R505.88, followed by Checkers and Woolworths costing R504.88 and R502.88.
In the middle of the list was Spar and Boxer, costing R483.88 and R478.88.
Price increases year on year
The Outlier said that the comparison has been done for the past 12 months and saw some significant price increases in certain products.
“In June 2022, the average price of a 2kg bag of Selati white sugar was R52.74. It has increased by 18% and the average price is now R62.23. At some retailers, the price went up significantly between May and June. This brand of sugar was most expensive at Checkers and Shoprite in June, costing R69.99 for the 2.5kg bag,” the data publication said.
“The price surge stems from substantial increases that were passed on by the South African Sugar Association to all producers and customers due to cost pressures, according to an email reply from the Woolworths press office. The association said it could not respond to our questions,” Outlier further said.
The price of a 2kg packet of Tastic rice has also increased significantly. A year ago it had an average cost of R35.74 between four retailers, while now it costs an average of R41.36 between eight retailers. This was R5.62 more and a 16% increase over 12 months.
In May, the annual consumer inflation rate was 6.3%.
Kevin Maier, merchandise vice president: Food for Makro, told Business Report: “At Makro we aim to give our customers quality products they need, at prices they can afford. Customers are cutting back on their spending and looking for great bargains to get more for less in their daily essential items. The more conscious customer is here to stay and for us as the retailer, it is about having a pricing strategy that makes sense for the market and delivers on quality as well.”
BUSINESS REPORT