American retail giant Walmart, which first entered South Africa in November 2025, will expand its presence in the country, with a store set to open on Saturday, 28 February 2026, at Eastpoint Shopping Centre in Boksburg.
The rollout of the Boksburg store brings Walmart’s store footprint in South Africa to three stores and is part of a broader plan to open another 21 stores across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“Walmart is firmly establishing a broader national presence to deliver affordable, high-quality merchandise to South African consumers,” the retailer said.
The initial Walmart stores in South Africa opened inside closed Game outlets, first at Clearwater Mall and then at Fourways Mall—both located in Johannesburg.
The third store, opening this month, will also replace a Game store that has been closed since 2025.
The announcement follows Walmart’s South African subsidiary, Massmart, confirming that it is considering closing approximately 20 Game stores in the coming months.
The Game stores in KwaZulu-Natal that will be affected by the new strategy include branches in Amanzimtoti, Ballito, Richards Bay, Pietermaritzburg, and The Pavilion.
Massmart has stated that it has no intention of shutting down the entire Game chain, despite the brand’s recent financial difficulties.
The company emphasised that the stores identified for potential closure represent only a small portion of its total Game portfolio, which comprises 122 sites across South Africa.
Walmart’s South African strategy
Under the management of Hector Msane, the new Walmart store in Boksburg will create about 80 jobs for South Africans, as it did with the first two stores in the country.
The retailer said it aims to strengthen its ties with small local suppliers for the new store, including household detergent manufacturer Ultra Chem, based in Ekurhuleni.
The manufacturer supplies Econo brand bleach, pine gel, dishwashing liquid, and other cleaning products.
The new store will also offer the same customer-favourite products as the Clearwater and Fourways branches, including roast chicken quarters, marbled sirloin steaks, Dr Pepper drinks, Sour Patch Kids, and Reese’s chocolate bars.
In response to customer feedback, Walmart will also expand its product offering to include a broader selection of appliances, including vacuum cleaners, water dispensers, and fridges.
Massmart vice president of format acceleration André Steyn said that since the inauguration of the first Walmart store in Clearwater, customers have embraced Walmart’s Every Day Low Price philosophy.
Steyn said that “independently published total price comparisons” have demonstrated that Walmart provides a “low-price advantage on a comparable shopping basket of everyday essentials, such as bread, milk, eggs, rice, sunflower oil, and sugar.”
In addition to its low-price strategy, the retailer also launched the Walmart Africa shopping app in November 2025, offering 60-minute delivery for customers within a 5km radius.
The app allows customers to shop from its stores and distribution facilities at the same prices as in-store.
Walmart’s new mobile app competes directly against Checkers Sixty60 and Pick’n Pay Asap! in the same-day grocery delivery market.
In November 2025, MyBroadband did a price comparison of products from Walmart, Pick’n Pay, Asap!, and Checkers Sixty60.
The results revealed that Walmart products were cheaper than those of both Checkers Sixty60 and Pick n Pay Asap! (excluding promotion items).
