New Checkers Sixty60 dark store in South Africa
Shoprite has rolled out another dark store to help speed up rapid deliveries on its on-demand delivery service Sixty60, especially in areas where stores are busy or inundated with high order volumes.
The retailer told MyBroadband it launched its sixth dark store in an unspecified location somewhere in KwaZulu-Natal.
The company previously rolled out four dark stores in the Western Cape, located in Gardens, Maitland, Ottery, and N1 City, and one in Gauteng in Kempton Park.
Three of the dark stores hold and distribute groceries, while the other three are used for general merchandise.
The term dark store is a bit of a misnomer, as these are not true stores directly accessible to customers. Instead, they serve as a product storage and distribution point for online order fulfilment.
They can come in various shapes and forms and may be located at premises that don’t have the typical physical features of a logistics operation — at least on the outside.
They effectively act as a micro-fulfilment centre for a retailer or on-demand service’s most popular groceries or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
Shoprite already has an extensive store footprint for its on-demand Sixty60 service, which helps fulfill the majority of deliveries.
“Sixty60 deliveries are fulfilled from 894 stores nationwide, including 67 Shoprite stores, effectively creating a wide network of micro-fulfilment centres,” the retailer told MyBroadband.
“The dark stores support rapid product fulfilment in high-demand areas where Checkers supermarkets may already be operating at full capacity, serving both in-store and online customers.”
Sixty60 has continued to experience substantial growth in recent years. Most recently, Shoprite reported the service’s revenue increased 34.6% to R11.9 billion in the six months ending 28 December 2025.
Sixty60’s revenues also account for 10.3% of the retailer’s total revenues, much more than competing services contribute to their company’s revenue pot.
The scale of the operation requires a substantial workforce. Firstly, it has around 10,000 delivery riders and drivers on Shoprite’s wholly-owned Pingo contracting platform.
Other motorists and members of the public have sometimes criticised these drivers for disobeying road laws or driving irresponsibly.
In-store shoppers annoyed by order pickers
Around 8,000 Shoprite staff also work as personal shoppers who walk through the stores and pick items from Sixty60 users’ shopping lists off store shelves.
These staff increase footfall in Shoprite and Checkers stores, which can be problematic for customers during busy shopping periods.
By offloading some of that traffic to its dark stores, Shoprite can reduce friction with customers and help make its in-store shopping experience more pleasant.
Several other South African retailers and on-demand delivery services have also rolled out dark stores in recent years, although their primary motivation is to speed up fulfilment.
The format was pioneered by UK retailer Tesco, which launched its first dark stores in 2009. It has only emerged in South Africa in recent years.
Among the earliest was Zulzi, which helped develop and continues to maintain the original Checkers Sixty60 platform.
Zulzi has seven dark stores across Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Centurion, which fulfill over 5,000 daily orders with 300 drivers.
South Africa’s largest e-commerce marketplace, Takealot, also uses dark stores for its TakealotNOW on-demand delivery service.
Available through the Mr D app, the service lets people buy a range of FMCG items, including electronics like cables and plugs, and get them delivered in a short time.
Two MyBroadband readers have recently tested the service for computer peripherals and received their orders within an hour.
Woolworths also began rolling out dark stores in 2024, starting in the Cape Town CBD, to support its Woolies Dash on-demand service.
While it said the first store was a major success, the retailer has not provided any significant public updates on its strategy or further rollouts.
Loading ...