Sixty60 deploys in-house AI shopping assistant built on South Africa's largest retail rewards programme

Pixie, developed by ShopriteX, uses purchase history and Xtra Savings data to personalise product recommendations and streamline repeat grocery orders.

Sixty60, the on-demand grocery delivery app operated by the Shoprite Group, has introduced an AI-powered shopping assistant called Pixie, developed entirely by ShopriteX, the group's technology and innovation division. The assistant launched in beta on the Sixty60 app from 9 April 2026, initially available to Xtra Savings Plus members.

ShopriteX built Pixie using a multidisciplinary team that includes product designers, data scientists, machine learning engineers and software developers. The assistant draws on Xtra Savings, Shoprite's retail rewards programme with more than 32 million active members, to personalise product recommendations based on each customer's purchase history, restocking patterns and shopping preferences. The more a customer shops, the more the system refines its suggestions.

The assistant introduces a feature called Smart Basket, which changes how users interact with product recommendations. Instead of a search-based interface, product cards appear in a swipe format: swiping down adds an item to the basket, swiping up removes it. The design is intended to reduce the number of steps required to complete a repeat grocery order.

Pixie also surfaces personalised promotions and discounts based on what individual customers typically buy, rather than displaying generic deals across the platform.

Neil Schreuder, describing the thinking behind the product, framed Pixie as a shift in what retail technology can do for a customer: "Shopping is no longer just an activity, it is increasingly something that can be managed seamlessly by technology on behalf of the user." He described the assistant as working quietly in the background, helping customers shop more efficiently while identifying relevant savings.

The beta release is the first phase of a broader rollout. Sixty60 has indicated that future versions of Pixie may include conversational interactions, automated reordering of household staples and meal planning features based on budget and available pantry items. Customer data is processed within the platform's existing privacy framework.