Welcome to this edition of INSIGHTS, a newsletter by Reveal.

In this week’s edition:

Launched in 2007, PEP Home has expanded to over 300 stores throughout South Africa, providing affordable household goods. Despite the brand's association with low-income consumers, its appeal extends beyond this demographic.

This week's analysis compares South African homeware retailers PEP Home, @home, and Mr Price Home to examine their performance within the mid-market segment. 

Let’s take a look at shoppers with a monthly income between R20,000 and R40,000.

Comparing the customer spend for the three retailers, it’s evident that @home does not appeal or even target this mid-market segment – perhaps not all that surprising. 

But what is interesting is that PEP Home takes in almost double the amount of money that Mr Price Home does in this income segment. 

So while Mr Price Home does appeal to the aspirations of this income group, it’s PEP Home with its simple essentials that gets this group of customers to spend.

The average monthly spend, however, highlights PEP Home's ability to attract customers. 

Given that both Mr Price Home and @home offer bigger household items like lounge sets and dining tables in their ranges, it’s not surprising that their average monthly spend is nearly double that of PEP Home.

But here’s the thing: A higher number of customers, buying in smaller amounts, is making PEP Home: The King of the Mid-Market in the home category.

While PEP Home may have originally focused on the lower-income market with smaller household items, it’s becoming clear that the brand is resonating with mid-market shoppers too. The real question is what happens if PEP Home decides to move upmarket and start offering bigger-ticket furniture or appliances. 

With Pepkor’s deep retail muscle and existing supplier relationships through the group’s lifestyle brands like Russells and Bradlows, such a move could reshape the home-retail landscape and pose a real challenge to incumbents like the Lewis Group.

Stay tuned to see what the data reveals.

Data sourced from 800k+ customers featuring more than 250m transactions for a period from 31 July 2024 to 1 August 2025 for retailers @home, Mr Price Home and PEP Home, unless otherwise stated.

Shoprite’s Sixty60 has crossed the 100 million order mark. The on-demand grocery delivery platform’s revenue increased 48% to R18.9 billion in 2025, with customer baskets growing nearly 5%.

After committing to launching in South Africa before the end of 2025, the US retail giant Walmart looks to be launching its first SA store in Fourways Mall, replacing the old Game outlet.

Pantry by Marble is taking its 24-hour gourmet forecourt concept to new heights with a new standalone store in Hazelwood, opening on 1 November. The move marks the start of a wider rollout, with sites also planned for Bassonia and a pop-up in the Mall of Africa.

Reveal is transforming how businesses understand and act on consumer behaviour through powerful, transaction-based insights.

By analysing billions of rands in real-world spend data from over 350,000 South Africans, Reveal uncovers the patterns, shifts, and opportunities that traditional research often misses. 

Our intuitive dashboards and custom analytics empower retailers, brands, and agencies to make faster, data-driven decisions. Whether it’s 

✅ spotting category winners, 

✅ identifying high-value customers, or 

✅ tracking real-time market changes. 

For anyone needing a sharper lens on how South Africans actually shop, Reveal is the edge.

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