Shoprite Group has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature on its Checkers Sixty60 app, aimed at simplifying online grocery shopping by predicting what customers need before they search for it.
According to a statement, the feature, called Pixie, acts as a built-in shopping assistant that suggests items based on a customer’s previous purchases, helping users restock regular products and discover relevant deals without browsing through long product lists.
“This is the dawn of using the best of AI to make shopping simpler and more personalised for consumers,” says Neil Schreuder, chief strategy and innovation officer at Shoprite.
“Pixie is like a little friend, assisting each customer quietly in the background, making shopping and saving effortless. Shopping used to be something you did. But now, it’s something Pixie, your personalised shopping assistant, handles for you. It’s shopping, magically simplified.”
According to the retailer, Pixie learns from how each person shops, using past orders and preferences to recommend items they are likely to need again.
It notes that a new “smart basket” interface allows users to swipe to browse, swipe up to remove, or swipe down to add to their basket.
The tool also highlights promotions based on what each person buys, rather than showing general offers. It is powered by Shoprite’s system, which tracks shopping habits to improve recommendations over time.
The feature has been developed locally by Shoprite’s technology division and will be available to Xtra Savings Plus members first before a wider rollout. The company says future updates could include automatic reordering of essentials and meal planning based on a customer’s budget or pantry.
Pixie’s experimental service will start rolling out to the Sixty60 app starting today.
The launch comes as Sixty60 continues to grow. Digital sales through the platform rose by 34.6% in the six months to December. The service, introduced in 2019, has expanded beyond groceries to include a wider range of household and lifestyle products delivered within scheduled one-hour time slots.
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