Where to buy the cheapest groceries in South Africa

Nedbank compared the 2025 and 2026 prices of a grocery basket from seven of South Africa’s biggest food retailers.

The bank found a price difference of R80 in the 2025 prices of the cheapest option, Makro, and the most expensive, Pick n Pay.

However, when comparing branded items in 2026, the story was different. While Makro remained the cheapest retailer, Checkers, Spar and Woolworths emerged as the most expensive shops.

South Africa’s retail market is undergoing a shift as international giants such as Amazon and Walmart enter the market, forcing local players to improve their offerings.

Days after Amazon formally launched in South Africa in May 2024, Takealot launched TakealotMORE and boosted TakealotNOW.

While some shoppers were underwhelmed by the international giant’s South African launch, Amazon has been gaining ground.

It is popular for its quick deliveries and affordable products. The company has also recently launched Prime and continues to expand its product range.

In 2024, after a decade of operating via Massmart, Walmart completed its full acquisition of Massmart. The company began opening Walmart-branded stores in late 2025.

“Walmart focuses on supply chain efficiency, managed by advanced technology, to deliver maximum retail value to price-sensitive South African shoppers facing high living costs and financial constraints,” Nedbank said.

“The company has timed its expansion strategically, in a competitive environment dominated by established local retail brands, intensifying the battle for customer loyalty and better consumer feedback.”

Another notable international entrant into South Africa’s food market is the British multinational coffee-and-sandwich chain Pret A Manger.

The company made its South African debut in February 2025, with locations in Johannesburg’s premium areas, including Melrose Arch and Rosebank.

Its product mix blends global snacks with South African-inspired foods, such as braaibroodjies, milk tart dessert pots, and its “Boerie Breakfast Bowl”.

“The move strengthens the fast-growing premium convenience food segment and sparks greater competition among established local chains,” Nedbank said.

“As shopper research shows, urban consumers increasingly value convenience, freshness, and ethical sourcing – areas where Pret excels.”

Local retailers respond to international competition

As the country’s food market becomes increasingly competitive, Nedbank said South African retailers have responded by accelerating their digital strategies and supply chain capabilities.

For example, for Shoprite’s Checkers, the bank said Sixty60 remains a national benchmark for grocery delivery and experienced 48% growth in 2025.

“The service is outperforming its main local rivals in both speed and reliability,” Nedbank said.

On the premium end of the market, Woolworths has maintained its hold, supported by loyal customers who prioritise quality.

“But more customers are questioning the transparency of their pricing – in some recent baskets, Woolworths products have been much more expensive than the same or similar equivalents at Checkers and Pick n Pay,” the bank said.

Takealot is also facing fierce competition from Amazon, which is directly competing with the local e-commerce retailer.

However, Nedbank said the business remains dominant across many product categories and continues to improve delivery speed, loyalty programmes, and product variety to preserve market share.

“They provide a classic example of retailers making use of customer knowledge and local market insights to stay ahead,” the bank said.

Price remains a battlefield where South African retailers are actively competing against new international and existing local competitors.

To see how local grocery retailers compare on price, Nedbank conducted a comparison using grocery basket and product price information from 2025, the latest year with full figures available.

The basket comprised nine staple shopping items: bread, oil, mielie meal, sugar, milk, rice, flour, soap, and toilet paper. The bank compared seven of the country’s biggest grocery stores for this analysis.

It found that Makro had the lowest basket price, with Pick n Pay the most expensive. Despite being known for its high prices, Woolworths ranked third-most expensive, behind Checkers.

“The price comparison tells us a few things,” Nedbank said. “Walmart/Makro are ahead on pricing, and Amazon has yet to make an impact on the pricing landscape.”

“Among the local players, Checkers and Woolworths are competitive on price, but also on convenience and quality.”

Overall, Nedbank said that increasing competition from international players will benefit consumers by offering better prices, service, availability, and convenience.

The table below shows how the seven grocery retailers compared in Nedbank’s price basket comparison.

Store	Price basket
Makro	R376.40
Food Lover’s Market	R413.38
Spar	R415.91
Shoprite	R420
Woolworths	R435.91
Checkers	R439.91
Pick n Pay	R455.91

How retailers stack up in 2026

In a more recent analysis, using Q2 2026 prices, Nedbank compared a basket of 10 branded products across seven South African retailers. These products were:

• Black Cat peanut butter 400g
• Five Roses tagless teabags 102s
• Rama yellow margarine brick
• Ricoffy instant coffee 750g
• Spekko rice 2kg
• White Star super maize meal 5kg
• Colgate toothpaste 100ml
• Axe aerosol all 150ml
• Koo baked beans in tomato sauce 410g
• Dettol hygiene soap 175g

Nedbank found that Woolworths Food had the highest year-on-year inflation at 4.0%, followed by Pick n Pay at 1.7%, Boxer at 1.0%, and Checkers at 0.5%.

Shoprite, Makro and Spar recorded deflation of 1.0%, 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Across all seven retailers, basket inflation fell to 0.7% year-on-year in 2Q26, from 2.6% in 1Q26.

Makro had the cheapest basket, while Checkers, Spar, and Woolworths had the most expensive baskets.

The graph below shows how each of the seven retailers compared in Q2 2026, according to Nedbank’s 2Q26 food price survey.