Spar has stepped up its fight for a bigger piece of the pie in the booming online delivery market by teaming up with Uber Eats, it said on Tuesday.
The move signals the group’s intent to stay relevant in the race as rivals like Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Woolworths aggressively scale up their delivery capabilities in a high-stakes battle for digital market share.
The partnership will initially cover 150 stores including Spar, Tops at Spar and KwikSpar outlets with plans to expand to 400 by the end of the year.
Spar said customers will be able to order groceries and liquor via both the SPAR2U app and the Uber Eats platform, with fulfilment handled by Uber’s nationwide driver network.
The tie-up also extends Spar’s reach into underserved areas, including townships and rural communities, where the retailer has already established a foothold through its hyperlocal delivery model.
As part of the rollout, Spar said it would integrate its digital and in-store stock systems to reduce out-of-stock issues and improve product availability.
The initial focus is on grocery and liquor deliveries, with plans to include products from Spar Pharmacy and Build it in later phases.
“Spar’s reputation is built on offering conveniently located, independently owned stores that serve their communities with care.
“By partnering with Uber Eats, we aim to provide our customers with greater convenience, value and speed, while maintaining the quality, affordability of daily deals, and the community-first innovation that defines Spar,” said the Spar group omnichannel executive, Blake Raubenheimer.
With more consumers embracing online shopping, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic, retailers are investing heavily in faster fulfilment, stronger tech platforms and wider geographic reach to meet demand and gain digital ground.
“By partnering with Uber Eats, we aim to provide our customers with greater convenience, value and speed, while maintaining the quality, affordability of daily deals, and the community-first innovation that defines Spar.
— Blake Raubenheimer.
As such, the country’s online delivery market has grown rapidly post-Covid-19, prompting retailers to invest heavily in fulfilment speed, platform technology and geographic coverage to keep up with demand and defend customer loyalty.
“Internationally, studies have shown that consumers place a premium on service and availability, with 79% of online shoppers expecting all in-store items to be available for pickup and delivery. We’re benchmarking our service delivery channels against this standard while seamlessly extending our loyalty programmes across all channels,” Raubenheimer said.
Industry data from Statista shows the local grocery delivery market is projected to generate $1.35bn (R24bn) in revenue in 2025, climbing to $2.18bn by 2030. User penetration is expected to hit 9.8% by 2025, with the number of users forecast to reach 8.7-million by 2030.
In recent years the domestic market has seen leading retailers ramping up their efforts with each adopting distinct strategies to meet evolving consumer expectations.
Shoprite was an early mover with the launch of Sixty60 in 2019, offering 60-minute grocery delivery and steadily expanding the service to more stores nationwide.
This positioned Shoprite as a pioneer in fast, affordable grocery delivery. The company recently extended the service to select Shoprite stores across the country clinging to as many customers as possible.
Pick n Pay entered the market in 2021 after the acquisition of on-demand liquor app Bottles in 2020 and later stepped up through a partnership with Mr D, enabling one-hour grocery delivery via the Mr D app.
To complement this, Pick n Pay also operates its own asap! platform, which provides broader fulfilment options and flexibility for customers.
Meanwhile, Woolworths has taken a more lifestyle-orientated approach with Woolies Dash, expanding its on-demand delivery beyond food to include fashion, beauty and homeware.
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