Mzansi chooses SA’s favourite SUPERMARKET

It wasn’t meant to be a popularity contest to find SA’s favourite supermarket, but that’s what it became after our story on the cheapest prices for groceries in SA started trending this week.

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That’s correct, we were inundated with feedback on The South African’s social media, WhatsApp line and email after we published a story ranking a basket of 23 typical household items. Comparing prices across four big South African retailers: Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite and Woolworths, the baskets ranked as follows:

1. Shoprite: R931.17
2. Checkers: R965.77
3. Pick n Pay: R1070.27
4. Woolworths: R1095.77

SA’S FAVOURITE SUPERMARKET

However, despite the cost-of-living crisis, it quickly became clear from the audience response that SA’s favourite supermarket is not just the one with the cheapest grocery prices.

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As one astute commenter, Nzama No C Pour, said: “Guys, we all live on specials, non is better than the other.” Niall Meegan said he doesn’t mind about the price difference and prefers Woolies because: “Food just last longer and is always fresher in my mind. Butter and that you can get anywhere but for the rest prefer Woolies.”

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Another commenter, Johannes Nel, said: “It all depends what you want to buy, and on which day which shop has specials on. You’ve got to shop around. Food Lover’s Market is a good place to shop.” Yes, we agree it’s a shame we could not include Food Lovers’ Market, Makro and Spar into our original comparison.

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Leepo Tendani said: “All of them, one just has to have the eye for specials/promotion. In my family we shop at Food Lover’s, Woolies, Spar, Game, Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Boxer, and we get the best deals from them all to complete our groceries list.”

UNOFFICIAL VOTE

So, what we did with all this unexpected data on SA’s favourite supermarket is sift through more than 400 responses and collate them into two sets of results. Firstly, a popularity vote between Checkers, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Woolworths (and other stores).

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Secondly, we wanted to gauge whether Mzansi likes to actively shop around for the best prices, or is loyal to one supermarket they know and support with a loyalty program. Finally, there’s the apathy vote for those who generally thinks SA food price are too high (which the Competition Commission says is the case) and it doesn’t matter where you shop.

AND THE WINNER IS …

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• Loyal customers to one supermarket: 85.71%
• Shop around depending on specials: 14.29%

There you have it. Shoprite is not only the cheapest grocery basket currently, but it secured more than 50% of the unofficial vote for SA’s favourite supermarket! When it comes to SA’s shopping habits, it turns out Mzansi is pretty loyal, too.

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More than 85% of responders said they had and used a loyalty program. Commenters noted the loyalty programs from Shoprite (U Save) and Pick n Pay (Smart Shopper) were the ones they value the most and trusted for the best prices. A small percentage (14%) of the vote said they shopped around regularly to find the best deals on groceries.

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What do you think of this impromptu vote for SA’s favourite supermarket? Do you care which store offers the cheapest prices on groceries or do you only support your favourite supermarket?

Be sure to share your thoughts with our audience in the comments section below. Send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com.

Or you can WhatsApp us on 060 011 0211. And don’t forget to follow us @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook for the latest updates.