Shoprite is turning Sixty60 into a broader digital shopping platform, allowing customers to buy mobile airtime, data and digital vouchers alongside groceries as South Africa’s biggest food retailer seeks to capture more of consumers’ everyday spending.

The expansion brings products from Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C and Shoprite K’nect onto the Checkers and Shoprite delivery platform. Customers can also purchase vouchers for Apple’s App Store and iTunes, Google Play, Uber and PlayStation Wallet Top Up, extending Sixty60’s role beyond food and household essentials.

Unlike conventional grocery orders, the digital products are delivered instantly by SMS to the buyer or a recipient. Customers do not need to meet a minimum basket value, making it possible to use the service for small top-ups, gifts or transfers to family and friends.

A $30.27 billion market for digital services

The move positions Shoprite to compete for a share of South Africa’s substantial value-added services (VAS) market, which Electrum estimates at approximately R500 billion($30.27 billion).

A report cited by Shoprite found that 95% of South African consumers surveyed bought airtime or data, underlining the importance of prepaid mobile services in a country where mobile phones are a primary point of access to digital services.

Helen Whelan, the report’s author, described prepaid airtime and data as essential to modern life, particularly where mobile connectivity is the main digital touchpoint for consumers.

The research also highlights the opportunity in digital distribution. Banking apps were the preferred channel for 61% of airtime and data purchases, demonstrating how consumers are increasingly using digital platforms rather than relying exclusively on physical outlets.

By adding these products to Sixty60, Shoprite is seeking to make its platform relevant to more frequent, everyday transactions beyond supermarket shopping.

Sixty60 expands beyond grocery delivery

The new services were already available in Shoprite’s physical stores. Bringing them online reflects the retailer’s effort to adapt its existing offering to changing customer behaviour and consolidate more purchases within its digital channels.

Launched in 2019, Sixty60 became a major growth driver for Shoprite, gaining traction during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as lockdowns and travel restrictions increased demand for home deliveries. Its growth continued after restrictions eased.

The expansion also gives the retailer another way to differentiate its digital offering as Woolworths, Spar and Pick n Pay compete for customers in South Africa’s online grocery market.

For Shoprite, the opportunity extends beyond delivering shopping bags to customers’ doors. Airtime, data and digital vouchers can bring additional purchase occasions to Sixty60, potentially encouraging customers to use the platform even when they do not need groceries.

The company’s challenge will be to turn that convenience into sustained customer engagement in a market where banking apps already have a strong position in digital airtime and data purchases.