Massmart’s Makro has proven to be the cheapest retailer for consumers to fill their grocery baskets with basic items for the third successive month.
According to data from Outlierafrica, which looks at in-store prices of the same basket of goods across eight major retailers, Makro ranked as the cheapest store to buy goods from for the month of July 2023.
In July 2023, Makro ranked as the cheapest store to buy goods from, with the most expensive being Woolworths.
The Outlier grocery basket contains the below, and the items are based on the cheapest, most comparable product. The Outlier said that it excludes products that are substantially different in price to keep things consistent.
- 700g loaf of Albany Superior Sliced White Bread, or store brand
- 2-litre sunflower oil (cheapest option*)
- 2.5kg Iwisa maize meal
- 2.5kg Selati white sugar
- 2-litre milk (cheapest option*)
- 2kg Tastic rice
- 2.5kg Snowflake cake flour
- 175g bar of Dettol herbal soap
- 500g Fatti’s and Moni’s spaghetti
- 400g smooth Black Cat peanut butter
- 1kg Jungle Oats
- 100 tagless Joko teabags
The Outlier said, “The average cost for our basket of 12 staple items in July was R480, which is slightly cheaper than last month. Based on our basket, there’s a price difference of R84 between the most expensive and the cheapest retailers. The price of sunflower oil is one of the main reasons for this.”
The Outlier’s report showed that in July, there was an R84 difference between the cheapest and most expensive baskets, while in June, the difference was R54.89.
“Makro’s basket price decreased by a substantial R24.09, and Spar’s increased by R14. Those were the two biggest fluctuations. This is all thanks to the price of oil at Makro, where sunflower oil in July was R15 cheaper than it was in June. At Woolworths, sunflower oil increased by R7, which accounts for the R8 increase in the overall basket price,” the Outlier said.
This makes it a consecutive third month in a row where Makro turned out to be the cheapest store to fill up a grocery basket, according to the Outlier’s list.
Shoprite and Food Lover’s placed second and third, respectively, costing R465,88 and R467,30.
Kevin Maier, Merchandise Vice President: Food for Makro told Business Report, “Makro provides consumers with affordable prices at great quality. As inflation and the cost of living continue to rise - we stand behind our customers by giving them back real value for money across our wide range of products.”
One of the biggest retailers in the country, Shoprite, reached out to Business Report to let us know that if shoppers opt for their in-house brand products, Ritebrand, shoppers will be able to save even more.
According to Shoprite, the group uplifts lives daily by pioneering access to the most affordable goods and services.
Shoprite said in a statement, “Price comparisons should not monitor specific bands. Instead, the focus should be on the cheapest product per category as that is what will hold the most benefit for cash-strapped consumers who make purchasing decisions based on price.”
Below is the price comparison Shoprite carried out with items made up mostly of their store brand products:
The items from Shoprite’s grocery basket, made up of the same items, just different brands, amounts to R395.89, while Makro’s basket cost R426.90.
BUSINESS REPORT