New chapter for Makro and Game stores in South Africa

Massmart wants to stop checking till slips when shoppers exit Makro and Game stores in South Africa.

However, it has gone quiet on the topic since former Walmart Africa COO Dries D’Hooghe said the change was being considered in November 2025.

Walmart owns Massmart, which owns retailers like Game, Makro, and Builders. D’Hooghe said the company was working hard to avoid customer frustration.

Many South Africans have described checking till slips at Makro and Game stores as a pet peeve and believe the change has long been overdue.

“Our job is to remove friction for our customers so that they get a great shopping experience,” D’Hooghe said.

He added that Massmart wanted to infuse Walmart culture into its South African stores and ensure that internal problems didn’t affect shoppers.

Security personnel at Makro, Game, and Builders have been checking customers’ till slips after checking out for many years.

Massmart stores have leveraged this mechanism to reduce and prevent theft by staff and customers, who could potentially sneak items into full trolleys.

Security personnel double-check that a trolley’s contents match the items listed on the customer’s till slip. If they are satisfied, they stamp and sign the till slip.

This approach not only deters potential shoplifters, who will be aware that staff will check their trolleys and till slips, but also addresses potential cashier errors.

As many Makro and Game customers shop in bulk, there may be instances where a cashier accidentally fails to scan an item.

Security staff should pick up any missed items when checking customers’ slips, ensuring that no items leave Game or Makro without payment.

Despite the reasons for these checks, they are frustrating for many law-abiding shoppers who want a seamless experience. Checks can also take a while when the store is busy.

Game store numbers plummet in South Africa

Another big change by Massmart is that it has been closing Game stores across the country.

Game was once famed for its deals. However, it began to struggle as South African shoppers shifted to online platforms.

An analysis of Massmart’s network of Game locations in South Africa revealed that numbers had dropped from 150 stores in July 2019 to around 122 in 2024.

Most of these store closures came between July 2022 and July 2023. It was around this time that Massmart identified 13 underperforming Game stores for closure.

This came after Game embarked on a revamp project dubbed Game Reimagined. Massmart said the project revealed which stores were unprofitable or unviable.

It ran “Everything must go” sales at 8 of the 13 Game stores set for closure. These were as follows:

• Game Bel-Air in Northriding, Gauteng
• Game Greenstone in Modderfontein, Gauteng
• Game Mall of the South in Johannesburg South, Gauteng
• Game Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal
• Game Westwood Mall in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal
• Game Gilwell in East London, Eastern Cape
• Game Hazyview in Mpumalanga
• Game CBD in Cape Town, Western Cape

Game offered significant discounts on products during the “Everything must go” sales, with the intention of clearing shelves at these stores.

Of the remaining 5 stores, Massmart said 2 never reopened following the violent riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021.

In late 2022, it said the last 3 stores hadn’t begun closure procedures. It remains unclear whether these stores ceased operating.

It appears as though Massmart quietly closed more than just 13 Game stores between July 2022 and July 2023.

During this period, its network of Game stores was reduced by 24 locations. It isn’t clear where these stores were located or when they were shut down.

Massmart’s network of Game stores remained at around 122 sites between July 2023 and July 2024.

No data was available regarding the Game store network in 2025 and 2026. However, Massmart said it was considering closing 20 more stores in February 2025.

This means that the number of Game stores still operating in South Africa could have reduced from 150 in 2019 to around 102 in 2026.