Big Sixty60 app revamp coming

Shoprite is in the process of rewriting its popular on-demand grocery delivery app Checkers Sixty60.

This was revealed in an off-the-cuff remark by Shoprite Group CEO Pieter Engelbrecht during an earnings call on the company’s interim results in early March 2024.

“In terms of further development, yes, we consistently will continue to develop Sixty60,” Engelbrecht said. “We’re currently busy rewriting the platform.”

“As we get closer to some of the new developments to be released and go live, we will tell the market.”

While app updates typically include small improvements or changes, a rewrite suggests a complete overhaul of the app is on the cards.

However, there is no timeframe for when a new Sixty60 app could launch.

MyBroadband asked Shoprite for more details on what changes and improvements the rewrite would offer, but the retailer was coy on tangible details.

“In our ongoing quest to reimagine grocery retail, Checkers Sixty60 is continuously exploring new innovations through which to improve and expand its service offering to customers,” Shoprite said.

“If and when any significant developments are rolled out to the public, we will share more.”

While there is no denying that Sixty60 is highly popular, with over a million downloads on the Google Play Store alone, its average rating of 2.9/5 from nearly 22,000 users on that same platform would suggest it does have shortcomings.

On the Apple App Store, where download numbers are no longer available, an average rating of 3.0/5 from nearly 4,400 reviews also highlights that there is room for improvement on the iOS version of the app.

Among the common issues reported by reviewers in the recent past include:

• No way to update delivery instructions after submitting an order
• Search functionality showing completely different products than queries
• Products often being out of stock
• No option to pick from which stores orders can be placed
• Driver tracking feature not working or not being up to date
• Incorrect amounts for certain products with decimals in the wrong place
• Rare cases where food is spoilt or rotten

Another feature currently missing from the app is the ability to pay with FNB’s popular eBucks loyalty points, which customers can do in-store.

To Shoprite’s credit, it often responds very quickly to reviews on the mobile stores to thank them for their feedback.

Sixty60 is “very profitable”

Sixty60 was launched in November 2019 and quickly grew to South Africa’s biggest on-demand delivery service app.

In December 2021, Shoprite entered into a joint venture with its delivery partner RTT to further grow its on-demand capabilities.

Sixty60 charges customers a flat R35 fee per delivery. These can be scheduled for a certain time slot, starting around one hour after the order.

Customers can also add an optional tip for the driver, but there are no other additional costs compared to what they would pay in-store.

Experts have raised questions over whether this model is sustainable, but during the earnings call, Engelbrecht stressed that Sixty60 was “very profitable”.

“I can with conviction tell you that Sixty60 is very profitable,” he said.

He explained that one of the main reasons Sixty60 was able to achieve profitability while major e-commerce players like Takealot struggled was their different logistics management.

“We have this very large footprint of stores that we use as micro fulfilment centres as opposed to a very expensive single dark distribution centre,” he said.

Shoprite recently also launched a R99 per month Sixty60 Xtra Savings Plus subscription service that eliminates the delivery fee for orders of R350 or more.

Subscribers also get 10% off one in-store shop per month, to the maximum value of R200.