Dis-Chem Pharmacies reports market share growth driven by new loyalty programme

Dis-Chem Pharmacies has claimed market share growth that far exceeds its peers in the three months to February 16, boosted by its new loyalty programme, according to a trading statement from the JSE-listed group released on Friday.

Dis-Chem's core retail categories saw volume growth of 8% for the period against a market volume growth of 1.3%, increasing its market share across all core categories by 0.8 percentage points, the pharmaceuticals and wellness group said, citing data from market research group NielsenIQ.

"We experienced a solid trading performance, notably on the back of the launch of our reimagined loyalty programme, Better Rewards, which launched on 21 October 2025. By applying technology, data, and deep customer insights, the X, Bigly Labs team continues to challenge the status quo by evolving the Better Rewards programme,” CE Rui Morais said in a statement.

Retail revenue for the 24 weeks increased by 9.5% compared to the corresponding period, with volume growth of 5%. Like-for-like retail revenue increased by 5.7%.

Retail revenue for the 17 weeks under the Better Rewards programme increased by 10.4%, with volume growth of 5.2%.

Under the rewards programme, pharmacy revenue grew by 13.7%, driven by increasing pharmacy engagement and high demand for GLP-1 drugs (which reduce appetite), he said.

Morais said revenue growth of Better Rewards brands increased by 19.4% with volume growth of 20.9%.

“The consistency of an always-on, health-relevant, lowest price basket is driving increased shopping frequency. Non-participating Better Rewards brands are benefiting from the halo effect from the increase in shopper trips,” he said.

He said they had returned R410 million in savings to customers in the 17 weeks, funds that customers could reinvest directly into their health.

The number of new shoppers who had not engaged with the Dis-Chem brand in the 12 months prior to the launch of Better Rewards increased by 550 000 shoppers.

The group operates 355 retail stores, comprising 313 Dis-Chem Pharmacy stores and 42 Dis-Chem Baby City stores.

“A key objective is to increase the average level of discount by driving the increase of boost penetration, as well as identifying new funding channels to further invest into the programme. Our ecosystem extends beyond the integrated healthcare ecosystem we're building, to partnerships like Capitec, where the Capitec boost is driving value for our shared customers,” he said.

Wholesale revenue increased by 15.7%. Sales to the group's own retail stores increased by 16.2%.

Revenue from external customers increased by 13.7%, with The Local Choice (TLC) revenue growing 14.2% and independent pharmacy revenue increasing by 13.4%.

The group has 281 TLC franchise stores at period-end, up from 230 at the end of the corresponding period.

Dis-Chem’s share price nudged up 1.18% to R37.00 on the JSE in early trade on Friday.
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