Checkers Sixty60 creates 800 new jobs during lockdown

16 Sep 2020

Since the start of lockdown, Checkers Sixty60 has created 800 new jobs to meet the increased demand for the grocery delivery service. The popular app offers shoppers deliveries in as little as 60 minutes at a standard fee of R35.

Checkers Sixty60 creates 800 new jobs during lockdown

After three months of successful beta testing, Sixty60 launched in a few neighbourhoods in the Western Cape and Gauteng in late 2019. Checkers will now be expanding the service to 25 new areas, including the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, over the next two months.

Although many industries are grappling with Covid-19-related job losses, Sixty60 has created 800 new jobs since the start of lockdown – bringing its total staff complement to just over 1,250.

At the peak of lockdown, Sixty60 had to adjust its delivery time from 60 minutes to same-day, but with an increased complement of employees, including hundreds of extra in-store pickers and drivers, the service has now returned to its original promise.

“Covid-19 has seen a once-in-a-generation shift to online shopping in South Africa, and it's a step change we believe is here to stay,” commented Neil Schreuder, chief of strategy and innovation for the Shoprite Group.

“Since lockdown, order volumes have skyrocketed and Checkers rapidly expanded Sixty60 throughout the country to cater for the increased demand. Customers love the control of shopping from their couch, tracking the items as they are picked in-store as well as the delivery of the items in real time from their phones.”