Dis-Chem Puts R240m Into New App for Prescriptions and On-Demand Delivery

Dis-Chem has invested about R240m in rebuilding its digital infrastructure, including a new app that lets customers search for products, order prescription medication and shop for health and personal-care items in one place. The pharmacy retailer has initially made the app available to a controlled group of about 22,000 customers, BusinessLIVE reported.

How the Dis-Chem App Works

Rui Morais, Dis-Chem's CEO, said the company's existing online offering had been constrained by separate processes for pharmacy and front-shop purchases. The new platform is designed to remove that friction, letting customers move through both parts of the business in a single digital journey from search and checkout to fulfilment. Morais said the investment was intended to address shortcomings in the retailer's previous technology infrastructure, which had limited its ability to develop an integrated online proposition.

A central feature is prescription digitisation. Customers will be able to submit prescriptions electronically, enabling pharmacists to check medical scheme benefits and prepare medication before customers arrive, reducing waiting times and improving collection efficiency. The app's initial users will provide feedback that will inform its development before a broader rollout in the final quarter of the calendar year.

Morais said the average basket on the app was already larger than the average in-store basket, partly because the retailer could identify customers and use their purchasing histories to tailor promotions. Dis-Chem currently relies on an external service provider for last-mile delivery, and Morais indicated that this arrangement would eventually change as the group seeks greater control over the customer experience.

The company has pointed to Shoprite's Sixty60 service, which now represents 11.1% of the South African supermarket business, as a benchmark. "We have really strong ambitions for it to be significant over the medium term. We don't see why there shouldn't be any reason, if someone does health-care retailing properly, why you couldn't get to that same number," Morais said. "The asset stack is invested in. It's now about execution."

Dis-Chem's Interim Results and Digital Costs

Dis-Chem reported a 13% drop in headline earnings to R550.1 million for the six months ended August 2026, as digital investment costs rose, Innovation Village reported. Revenue grew 8% to R23 billion, operating expenses increased 12.1%, and the interim dividend fell 12.9% to 25.62 cents per share.

In the same interim period, front-shop volume growth of 5.5% outperformed overall market growth of 0.1%, and pharmacy revenue grew 10.4%. The Better Rewards loyalty programme has returned R1.5 billion in value to customers since its launch a year ago, with active membership up 27% to 8.2 million customers and programme members accounting for 86.1% of total sales.

Dis-Chem's Store Expansion Target

Dis-Chem is targeting 30 new stores during the 2027 financial year, alongside the digital overhaul. Over the past year, the group completed 1.43 million nurse consultations, with 153,000 patients referred to virtual doctors.