Spar South Africa has officially announced a partnership with Uber Eats to expand its grocery and liquor delivery footprint and supplement its Spar 2U service.
“Since its launch in 2022, Spar’s 2U app has experienced rapid growth in grocery and liquor delivery — especially in township and rural areas through smart, hyperlocal partnerships,” the company stated.
“Whether through the 2U app or Uber Eats, customers can enjoy the same trusted service, unique local product ranges, including all their favourites, and connection to the community that Spar is known for.”
Spar said 2U delivered by Uber Eats is currently available in select locations. Its ambition is to grow to 400 stores by year-end, and the partnership aims to reach 150 Spar, Tops at Spar, and Kwikspar stores by the end of July.
“This collaboration brings together Spar’s neighbourhood strength with Uber Eats’ delivery capabilities and will initially focus on groceries and liquor, with plans to expand into Spar Pharmacy and Build it deliveries,” it said.
Spar Group omnichannel executive Blake Raubenheimer said international studies have shown that consumers place a premium on service and availability.
Specifically, 79% of online shoppers expect all in-store items to be available for pick-up and delivery.
“We’re benchmarking our service delivery channels against this standard while seamlessly extending our loyalty programmes across all channels,” said Raubenheimer.
“As our partnership continues to evolve, we will integrate additional features that align with Spar’s vision of fostering long-term growth and digital innovation across its retail network.”
This includes customised in-app campaigns allowing individual Spar retailers to showcase the local products and specialities they’re famous for, along with any hyper-local special offers.
Spar said Uber Eats has 52,000 drivers in 40 towns and cities and 2.1 million active users, allowing it to expand its reach to many who couldn’t previously access digital delivery services.
Spar2U showing promising growth
In its trading update for the six months ending 28 March 2025, Spar South Africa reported that Spar2U delivery volumes increased by 174%.
It also reported that its partnership with Uber Eats had already expanded to 130 stores after launching in the first quarter of 2025.
Spar South Africa’s e-commerce operations manager, Dax Puttergill, recently told MyBroadband that adapting the company’s last-mile delivery model is challenging.
Puttergill said that while its model is similar to competing players in urban areas, rural areas and townships introduce complexities.
“In rural areas, road conditions can vary, and delivery distances tend to be much longer,” said Puttergill.
“This requires us to ensure that we consider factors such as delivery vehicle types and turnaround times.”
In township environments, the Spar must consider each community’s specific needs, such as safety, accessibility, and the lack of formal infrastructure.
Puttergill emphasised that these complexities haven’t become a hindering factor for the Spar2U on-demand delivery service.
“We are committed to the communities we serve, which means remaining agile, continuously refining our delivery models, and leveraging local knowledge to ensure Spar2U is accessible and efficient,” he said.
On the other hand, Shoprite told MyBroadband that its challenges involve refining its platform, meeting demand, and delivering on its promise of getting orders to the consumers in 60 minutes.
“Delivering on that commitment at scale is no small feat. Since launch, we’ve grown our product assortment from 500 to over 30,000 items while maintaining a fast, intuitive, and personalised shopping experience,” it stated.
“This has required constant refinement of our search algorithms, user experience (UX) design, and personalisation tools, allowing customers to easily re-order favourites or browse personalised recommendations.”
It added that offering hyper-accurate delivery windows for its more recently launched general merchandise categories can be particularly challenging.
“Unlike other players who promise a delivery day, we promise a delivery hour, made possible through bespoke route optimisation and demand forecasting software,” it said.