The cheapest shop in South Africa for pensioners

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Inflation isn’t doing South Africa’s pensioners any favours. Neither the grant nor any retirement annuity keeps up with the consumer price index (CPI).

What remains is finding ways to save money to get through the month. Discovering which is the cheapest shop could solve some problems.

Which shop is cheapest for South Africa’s pensioners?

There are plenty of discount retailers, promising lower prices. But further investigation highlights how these claims often rely on promotions.

This forces pensioners to browse catalogues in search of deals.

By determining which of South Africa’s affordable retailers is cheapest, pensioners can finally shop confidently at a retailer of choice.

The Selection Process for Choosing an Affordable Retailer

This comparison uses three of the country’s cheapest retailers: Makro, Shoprite, and Pick ‘n Pay. The results are based on 12 common products many pensioners will need. The products include:

For a fair comparison, each product must have the same weight or quantity. Store brands are included. These can be cheaper than name brands.

Each product on the list was based on the cheapest item at the shop.

But to be cheapest, all products are based on their cost when they aren’t on special. No promotions and no combos were allowed in this process.

South Africa’s Cheapest Shop for Pensioners

Based on this comparison, Makro is the cheapest shop for pensioners. Surprisingly, Pick ‘n Pay is cheaper than Shoprite. Yet, there’s only R1.10 between the retailers.

Pensioners also benefit from a 5% discount on groceries at Makro, bringing the R582.70 total to R553.57. To get the discount, pensioners must have an mPensioners card.

Both Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite were R50 more expensive than Makro.

Pick ‘n Pay’s total was R637.78 and Shoprite’s total was R638.88.

However, getting to a Makro is the challenge. There are only 23 locations throughout the country.

This means pensioners might not make as much of a saving when they add transport costs to their total.

Delivery is an option. Makro charges R70 for deliveries on orders under R650. But above R650, delivery is free. (You might as well use the youngsters to do the shopping and heavy lifting). These deliveries take between 2 and 4 days to arrive.

Shoprite and Pick ‘n Pay also offer delivery. Shoprite uses Sixty60 for delivery, which is still only available in a few locations. The delivery fee is R37.

Pick ‘n Pay’s delivery costs R35.

These deliveries typically occur on the same day as the order.

Sources

• The South African ↗