The Shoprite Group has officially unveiled its new digital business unit, ShopriteX, which it says “combines data science, technology and innovation with [the group’s] operational strength to provide increasingly enhanced customer experiences”.
Incubated over the past year, ShopriteX aims to create a more personalised shopping experience for customers.
ShopriteX has already delivered two innovations – Xtra Savings, a rewards programme with 20-million members to date, and Checkers Sixty60, a South African on-demand 60-minute supermarket grocery delivery service.
“We are serious about being Africa’s most customer-centric retailer, and the launch of ShopriteX represents our investment in fit-for-the-future precision retail, which is increasingly digital and data-led,” says Shoprite Group CEO Pieter Engelbrecht.
The launch is part of the group’s strategy to grow its ecosystem of value for consumers and to monetise new and diverse revenue streams.
At the ShopriteX offices above the new Checkers Hyper Brackenfell flagship store, next to the group’s home office, the division’s 250-strong team, including data science, e-commerce and personalisation experts, is working side by side with Shoprite’s information technology team to create and implement new innovations.
The new offices are also home to the group’s latest retail innovation, Checkers Rush, an automated, cashless, no-queues, no-checkout, no-waiting concept store, where employees can grab products and walk out.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) camera technology to identify the products being taken off the shelves, Checkers Rush bills users’ bank cards upon exit.
This is one of numerous digital innovations under development.
“The next era of growth for us is about precision retailing,” says Engelbrecht.
“ShopriteX will use our rich customer data to supercharge a smarter Shoprite and ultimately fuse the best of digital with our operational strength across the continent.”
“Shoprite to the power of X represents an exponential growth opportunity when you combine the best of data, tech and talent with the scale of the Shoprite Group,” adds strategy and innovation chief Neil Schreuder.
Innovations such as Sixty60 and Xtra Savings have seen the Shoprite Group scoop up 17 innovation awards in the past year, and Schreuder says the company is “just getting started”.
“Through a culture of innovation and startup-like pace, our teams are making grocery shopping more personalised for customers, while removing friction from the retail experience.”