Woolworths South Africa’s online channels continued to grow robustly over the past six months, with digital sales making an increasing contribution to the retailer’s overall performance despite a constrained consumer environment.
In a trading update for the 26 weeks ended 28 December 2025, Woolworths Holdings said revenue through Woolies Dash climbed by 23%, with online now accounting for 7.2% of Woolworths South Africa’s food sales.
The good digital performance came as Woolworths South Africa delivered above-market turnover growth of 6.8%, driven primarily by food, which grew 7% for the period. Comparable-store food sales rose 5.2%, supported by positive underlying volume growth and continued market share gains.
Growth in online food sales moderated slightly in the final seven weeks of the period, in line with easing price inflation, but Woolworths said digital demand remained resilient. Price movement averaged 4.6% over the half, while sales growth in the final seven weeks slowed to 5.3%.
Woolworths has invested heavily in its logistics backbone to support this expansion. The company said the expansion of its Midrand distribution centre is well advanced, although the additional depreciation from the investment weighed on gross profit margins in the short term. The retailer increased net food trading space by 4.3% over the prior period, though on a weighted basis this was a more modest 1.8%.
Online sales also continued to play a growing role in Fashion, Beauty and Home (FBH), where digital channels contributed 6.2% of South African sales. Total FBH turnover rose 6.2%, with comparable-store sales up 6.4%, helped by improved product availability and better execution across the value chain.
Strategic importance
Beauty and Home stood out, with sales growth of 8.9% and 14%, respectively, while fashion sales were held back by deliberate price investment in categories such as childrenswear and the clearance of excess inventory. Woolworths said these moves affected margins in the short term but supported volume growth.
The retailer has previously highlighted the strategic importance of e-commerce and last-mile delivery as part of its broader omnichannel strategy, with Woolies Dash positioned as a key growth engine alongside store-based retail.
Read: Black Friday goes digital in South Africa
In Australia, the Country Road Group’s online contribution remained significantly higher than in South Africa, accounting for 27.2% of sales, though this was broadly unchanged year on year as trading conditions softened towards the end of the period.
At group level, Woolworths Holdings reported turnover and concession sales growth of 5.4%, or 6.1% on a constant currency basis, with positive sales growth across all business segments.
The company said its interim results for the period will be released on 4 March 2026. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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