A spaza shop is an informal convenience shop business in South Africa, usually run from home, that serves the purpose of supplementing household incomes of the owners by selling small everyday household items
. They grew as a result of sprawling townships that made travel to formal shopping places more difficult or expensive
. Spaza shops are a crucial part of the informal economy and a source of livelihood to many poorer communities in terms of access to goods and services
. The inventory of a spaza shop usually consists of basic goods like produce, drinks, cigarettes, and bread, and name brand goods tend to sell competitively
. However, wholesalers are often not willing to give discounted prices to spaza shop owners
. In recent times, Somalis in South Africa are noted for running spaza shops in black townships
. South African banks are trying to win spaza shops as “bank shops” offering minimal banking services at lower costs than full bank branch offices
