Pick n Pay reported a 35.4% surge in online sales during the six months through August 2026, matching rival Checkers Sixty60’s recent growth pace. The retailer’s online momentum proved a key bright spot in an otherwise muted operational period, though the company withheld specific rand figures for its digital division.
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Overall group turnover edged up 2.4% to R60.5 billion, while headline losses narrowed 31.9% to R299 million. The core Pick n Pay segment (excluding Boxer discount stores) recorded flat turnover at R36.4 billion, although like-for-like sales at company-owned South African supermarkets grew 2.4%.
Trading losses for the main Pick n Pay business narrowed from R621 million to R516 million. Operating costs rose 5% to R2.2 billion, driven higher by persistent diesel and utility expenses. Management confirmed it withdrew its Section 189A retrenchment process after finalizing a revised store staffing model with labour unions, keeping the segment on track to target operational break-even by FY2029.
To accelerate digital basket sizes on its asap! delivery app, Pick n Pay expanded catalogue offerings to include clothing lines alongside groceries. The retailer also introduced Penny, an AI shopping assistant built on Google’s Gemini foundation models.
Positioned as South Africa’s first fully integrated AI grocery assistant, Penny enables shoppers to construct digital carts via text, voice commands, or uploaded photos of recipes and pantry shelves:
- Conversion Impact: Pick n Pay reported higher order conversion rates and increased average order values following Penny’s integration.
- Competitive Rivalry: The move sharpens competition with Shoprite’s Sixty60 platform, which introduced its own AI assistant, Pixie, earlier this year.
By comparison, Shoprite’s Sixty60 expanded sales 34.5% to R25.5 billion in its last financial year, accounting for nearly 10% of total group turnover. While Pick n Pay’s lack of segment reporting obscures total digital market share, the app overhaul underscores its push to capture high-margin online demand.
