Inside Woolworths’ Secret Dark Stores: How Cape Town’s Online Orders Are Getting Faster

Woolworths’ Dark Store Strategy: The Secret Behind Faster Online Delivery

If you’ve shopped online with Woolies Dash, you may have noticed your groceries arriving faster than ever. Behind the scenes, Woolworths has been quietly building dark stores, facilities not open to the public, entirely dedicated to fulfilling online orders.

The first of these “secret” hubs launched in Cape Town’s CBD in August 2024, and early results suggest it’s transforming the online shopping experience.

What is a dark store?

Unlike traditional stores, dark stores are online-first: no aisles for walk-in customers, no checkout queues, just a dedicated space where staff pick and pack online orders efficiently.

A Woolworths spokesperson explained that these stores eliminate competition between in-store shoppers and online orders, allowing faster fulfilment and access to the retailer’s full product catalogue. In Cape Town, the move has allowed Woolies Dash to grow by 71% in the last financial year, a huge leap for the company’s e-commerce operations.

Liz Hillockock, Woolworths’ Online and Mobile Director, described the investment as part of a broader “future-fit omnichannel strategy” to transform existing assets into improved customer experiences.

Early success in Cape Town

The first dark store in Cape Town serves the City Bowl and surrounding areas, providing more delivery slots and quicker turnaround times. Customers enjoy greater product availability, and Woolworths staff can scale up for high demand without affecting in-store shopping experiences.

Although Woolworths has not disclosed further rollout plans, it is clear that the dark store concept is central to expanding Woolies Dash nationwide.

Woolies Dash driving strong online growth

Woolworths launched Woolies Dash in December 2020, piloting the service in 18 stores across Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. Over the years, online sales have surged, with Woolies Dash contributing heavily to this growth.

In the 2025 financial year, Woolworths’ online sales reached R7.78 billion, an 8.9% increase from the previous year. Woolies Dash turnover jumped 41.6%, pushing online food sales to R3.33 billion, a 32.9% rise year-on-year. The service now represents 6.6% of the retailer’s total food sales in South Africa.

These figures reflect a wider shift in consumer behaviour, with South Africans increasingly preferring online convenience, especially in urban centres where Woolworths’ dark stores can optimise delivery efficiency.

The future of dark stores in South Africa

While Woolworths remains tight-lipped about upcoming locations, the dark store strategy underscores the retailer’s commitment to innovation and customer convenience. Social media chatter suggests excitement among Cape Town shoppers, many praising faster delivery and broader product selection.

Retail analysts say dark stores could reshape grocery shopping in South Africa, particularly as e-commerce penetration grows and customers expect instant gratification. Woolworths is betting that by expanding the Woolies Dash infrastructure, it can set the standard for online grocery fulfilment nationwide.

In a market where speed, availability, and reliability matter, Woolworths’ dark stores are more than just a backend operation, they’re the engine powering South Africa’s fastest-growing online grocery service.

{Source: My Broad Band}

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