Guess what? Oh, never mind… We’ll just tell you then. Checkers is testing SA’s first smart shopping trolley, allowing shoppers to scan items as they go and pay directly on the trolley without the need to pass through checkout. We find this exciting, because not only does it mean no queues and a quicker shop generally, it also means that we won’t have to expend any energy on our personally imposed challenge of trying to make cashier no. 5 smile. Built by the very clever people from the ShopriteX innovation team, the Xpress Trolley has a screen which displays real-time product details, personalised promotions, and your running total. It also assists with in-store navigation by indicating where products are located within the store. Because all the cool stuff happens in Cape Town, for now, only 10 trolleys will be available for use at Checkers Hyper Brackenfell and another 10 at Checkers Constantia.

Comment: How the trolley prevents potential shoplifters from sneaking a product out of the store without it being scanned and paid for is a question we’re keen to ask. But in the meantime, nice work, ShopriteXers. We hope the trial is a success.

We have a host of minor stories from the majors this week, although no news from the majors is minor in our books (No. Ed.). We know you’re all very busy people, so here are your spark notes:

• Checkers: Checkers’ Simple Truth private label brand has just launched a new ad campaign endorsed by none other than celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. The ad is clever and so fun to watch, bringing the wellness brand’s “no-junk promise” message home with the help of well-known South African personalities, including rugby players Pieter-Steph du Toit and Trevor Nyakane, comedian Marc Lottering and social media personalities Anelisa and Asanele Sobeka.You can find it over here.
• Pick n Pay: Still riding its Springboks sponsorship wave (and well it should) is Pick n Pay, which will be hiding 24 Bok player figurines in 24 lucky asap! deliveries over 24 days, giving shoppers the opportunity to win R50,000 in cash. To stand a chance to find their Springbok darling, shoppers must spend R350 or more on the new Pick n Pay asap! app before 10 September. We love this ad too… check it out here.
• Woolworths: Woolworths Tygervalley in Cape Town has reopened its doors after an extensive revamp, unveiling the brand’s next-generation store format. This is Woolies’ first full-line store, integrating food, fashion, beauty and home all in one space. “This isn’t just a new store – this is a look at the future of Woolies,” said Manie Maritz, CEO of Woolworths Fashion, Beauty and Home. It offers denim lasering, free tailoring services for garments bought in store, beauty treatments, professional gift wrapping, a ‘What’s Cooking’ bar to sample Taste recipes and more, which you can read all about here.
• SPAR: Congratulations to SPAR, which this year is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its SPAR Women’s Challenge, a series of 5/10km walk or run events held in various cities across the country every year. While all the events support worthy charities and causes, particular mention should be made of the R350,000+ which was donated after the SPAR Women’s Challenge Tshwane held earlier this month to organisations doing vital work to support and uplift women across the Pretoria region.

Although undesirable to all involved, product recalls are a reality in a fast-paced industry like ours that feeds so many people and nations. Most often, the recall is due to bacterial contamination or even the presence of foreign objects. But this week, Walmart is recalling three batches of frozen shrimp sold under its Great Value label after radioactive material was detected in a sample. The shipment came from an Indonesian supplier that has since had several of its containers denied entry to the US. Still in the States, Brian Cornell, CEO of big-box retailer Target, will be stepping down from his role amid a range of challenges plaguing the company of late. He will be replaced by current Target COO Michael Fiddelke, news which was met negatively by some investors who were hoping for an external hire with a fresh perspective to turn the company around. Cornell will move into the role of executive chairman, which one sector expert is calling “a reward for failure”. Over in the UK, Tesco shoppers are decidedly miffed about a 25p increase in the retailer’s popular meal deal, which includes a salad or sandwich, a drink and a snack at a discounted price. 25p may not seem like very much, but it comes on the back of another 25p hike around a year ago, now bringing the total to £3.85 (versus £3.35 last year). Similar meal deals can be picked up at rival Sainsbury’s for £3.95, with Waitrose offering the most expensive combo currently at £5.00. And speaking of Waitrose, the retailer has added a nifty feature to its app whereby shoppers can see if a product on their pre-created shopping list is available in store while they shop. This makes it easier for customers to find everything they need without having to search the aisles or ask staff, who, it seems, have a knack for never being around when you need them and always being around when you don’t.

We’re not normally in the habit of covering the banking sector and financial services providers, but this story is bound to make waves in the SME space, which includes hundreds of thousands of informal grocery retailers. Indeed, Nedbank has announced that it intends to buy 100% of fintech innovator iKhokha in an all-cash deal for approximately R1.65bn. The deal is expected to conclude in the coming months following the usual regulatory processes. Once just a promising fintech start-up, iKhokha has now been around for 13 years and is one of South Africa’s leading payment providers, offering SMEs affordable payment and business management tools. iKhokha will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nedbank, while continuing to operate under its own brand and leadership team. “This is a proud moment for both the founders and the broader iKhokha leadership team,” said Matt Putman, CEO and co-founder of iKhokha. “Joining forces with Nedbank gives us the platform to scale our impact, further accelerate product innovation, and unlock new value for our merchants.”

It’s results time for the world’s biggest beer brewers AB InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg, allowing us to draw some interesting parallels and contrasts shaping this highly contested liquor category. The most significant similarity is that all three companies saw their share prices drop (Heineken >8%, AB InBev >11.5%, Carlsberg >7%) as investors were disappointed by declining volume figures. They’re also all similarly concerned about the effect that global economic factors (trade tariffs, economic uncertainty, etc. etc.) will have on their bottom line, with some experts warning that the price increases currently supporting profits are unsustainable as consumers feel the pinch and are drinking less for health reasons. Their performances by global regions differed somewhat, with Heineken showing strong growth in Africa and Asia, while Carlsberg reported “weaker-than-expected” performance in the East. AB InBev experienced sharp declines in its key markets of Brazil and China, which drove its overall volume miss, in part because (in Brazil’s case) it hiked prices earlier than Heineken, which in turn benefited the latter as consumers shifted to the green bottle. Now we’ll mix the drinks a little and throw in some results from Diageo, which is better known for its spirits. While the company shared similar concerns to the brewers regarding global economic challenges, it took the high(er) ground in terms of the volume game, pointing towards a consumer who prefers to drink less, but better – a strategic opportunity for a spirits company, which is more difficult for brewers to, ahem, tap into.

Comment: Purchasers of Ti’s 2025/2026 Liquor Report will already be familiar with some of the trends mentioned above. If you’re involved in liquor retailing of any sort, we suggest you get your hands on it too. See more about it here.

Stats SA’s retail sales data for Jun 2025 came out last week, showing real growth of +1.6% YoY. As a reminder, real growth (which is also known as constant prices) excludes the impact of inflation, giving us a good indication of the actual change in the volume of goods sold, and as such is a more accurate measure of consumer demand and economic health. Breaking the numbers down:

• General dealers (selling predominantly food) declined -0.2% YoY
• Food specialists (i.e. bakeries, butcheries, fruit & veg, etc., which sell a specific type of food rather than a general assortment) are also feeling the pressure: -4.5% as food prices tick up (especially for meat)
• Retailers of durables are seeing some growth, likely supported by the interest rate cuts – retailers in household goods: +6.9% and retailers in hardware: +5.4% (highest growth in almost four years)

Comment: Retail sales growth will not be without challenges in the second half of 2025. Food inflation is ticking up and although households might be benefiting from the lower interest rates, there will be no ‘two-pot’ bubble to bolster spending at the end of this year.

Note: The‘two-pot’ change to retirement savings came into effect in Sep 2024, and allowed for limited access to savings.