Every month we take a look at the in-store prices of the same basket of goods across six major retailers – Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar, Food Lover’s Market and Woolworths.

Items in our grocery basket

There are nine items on our shopping list

  • 700g loaf of Albany Superior Sliced White Bread, or store brand
  • 2-litre store brand sunflower oil
  • 2.5kg Iwisa maize meal
  • 2.5kg Selati white sugar
  • 2-litre store brand milk
  • 2kg Tastic rice
  • 2.5kg Snowflake cake flour
  • 175g bar of Dettol Herbal Soap
  • 9-pack of 2-ply toilet paper, average price over all brands

If some brands aren’t available, alternatives are used, but our aim is to keep the products as consistent as possible every month. For a breakdown of our methodology, click here.

March’s basket

For the first time this year, the Spar basket was not the most expensive, coming in as the second cheapest. Checkers took the priciest spot by R15.46 in comparison with Food Lover’s Market’s bag of goods, which was the most affordable at R399.70.

The Outlier’s grocery basket: March 2023
For the first time this year, the Spar basket was not the most expensive, coming in as the second-cheapest. Checkers took the priciest spot by R15.46 in comparison with Food Lover’s Market’s bag of goods, which was the most affordable at R399.70

Notebook

Additional data collection by Gemma Ritchie

This post was edited on 26 June 2023 to update editorial style. No material changes were made.