Price war | Where to find cheapest groceries in South Africa: Checkers v Woolworths v Pick n Pay v Makro – plus more

Of the eight most popular grocery retailers in South Africa, Makro in April 2023 offered the cheapest basket of essential items.

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This is according to The Outlier’s monthly grocery basket comparison which compares prices of nine staple foods and products each month from major retailers in Mzansi.

Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Food Lover’s Market and Woolworths were joined in April 2023 by new additions in Boxer and Makro.

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WHAT’S IN THE BASKET?

The nine items in the monthly grocery basket comparison are listed below:

700g loaf of Albany Superior Sliced White Bread, or store brand
2-litre store brand sunflower oil
2.5kg Iwisa maize meal
2.5kg Selati white sugar
2-litre store brand milk
2kg Tastic rice
2.5kg Snowflake cake flour
175g bar of Dettol Herbal Soap
9-pack of two-ply Baby Soft toilet paper (or store brand)

The Outlier has been collecting and comparing data since June 2022 at the various retailers in Gauteng.

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To note: In some cases, store brand alternatives are used because some stores only keep the store brand versions of those items. When items aren’t available in-store, the online price is used.

April 2023 alternatives
Woolworths – 2-litre store brand sunflower oil (online price)
Spar – 2.5kg Selati white sugar (online price)
Makro – 2.5kg Selati white sugar (online price), 2-litre sunflower oil (average price, no store brand)
Boxer – 2-litre full cream milk (average price, no store brand), 2-litre sunflower oil (average price, no store brand), 2.5kg maize meal (average price, no Iwisa)
Pick n Pay – 2.5kg maize meal (average price, no Iwisa)

According to the data, Makro offered the cheapest basket in April 2023, totalling R393.60.

In second place was Food Lover’s Market – at R11.27 more.

Spar had the most expensive basket at R433.41, which was R39.81 more than Makro. However, it must be noted that Spar is franchised, meaning prices of items may from store to store.

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Which of South Africa’s grocery retailers is your favourite? Let us know in the comments section on social media.

THE TABLE BELOW GIVES THE BREAKDOWN OF PRICES FOR EACH ITEM FROM THE EIGHT GROCERY RETAILERS FROM CHEAPEST TO MOST EXPENSIVE (LEFT TO RIGHT):