Pieter Boone - Afrikan Heroes

Pick n Pay Reports Double Online Sales

September 1, 2022

Retail giant, Pick n Pay has announced that its online sales nearly doubled in its most reporting period compared to the same period last year as shoppers warm to buying their groceries on the Internet.

The retail group said that in the 18 weeks ended 3 July 2022, total online sales, which include scheduled delivery, click and collect and its asap! on-demand online service, grew by 97.3%. It didn’t provide a gross value for the sales.

“Progress towards our goal of a step-change increase in online sales continues. The launch of a dedicated Pick n Pay food and grocery offer on the Mr D App is on track. The initial launch will be in a limited number of stores in August, with national coverage targeted by the end of February 2023,” it said in a statement to shareholders.

Much of the strong growth in online sales likely came from Pick n Pay asap!, which grew its sales by 300% in the year ended February 2022.

Delivery apps like Pick n Pay asap! and Shoprite Group’s Checkers Sixty60 have enjoyed strong growth since the Covid-19 hard lockdown in 2020 forced many consumers to consider online shopping for the first time, or to ramp up their online spending.

Pick n Pay earlier this year made “significant enhancements” to its mobile app and its in-store picking interface to simplify the user experience. This included improved navigation, ordering and checkout.

In May, Pick n Pay and Naspers-owned Takealot Group announced that they had signed a commercial services agreement that would allow customers to buy Pick n Pay food, groceries and liquor on a new platform on Takealot’s Mr D app.

“Pick n Pay will bring its tremendous expertise in running fresh food and grocery, its nationwide store network, and its leading Smart Shopper loyalty programme. The Takealot Group will bring its proven ability to satisfy online, its technical expertise, and its unrivalled delivery network,” the companies said in a joint statement at the time.

Pick n Pay CEO Pieter Boone said in the joint statement, in a clear challenge to Shoprite Group’s market-leading Checkers Sixty60 app: “There is huge potential for omnichannel retail in this country. Through this agreement with Takealot, we intend to regain market leadership in online grocery, and to do so in a sustainable and profitable way. We plan to increase our online revenue eight-fold by the 2026 financial year.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Pick n Pay Partners With Takealot in Online Shopping Push

May 18, 2022

One of South Africa’s largest groceries retails outlet Pick n Pay is partnering with Takealot Group, a subsidiary of Naspers in a commercial services agreement that will allow customers to buy Pick n Pay food, groceries and liquor on a new platform on Takealot’s Mr D app.

“Pick n Pay will bring its tremendous expertise in running fresh food and grocery, its nationwide store network, and its leading Smart Shopper loyalty programme. The Takealot Group will bring its proven ability to satisfy online customers, its technical expertise, and its unrivalled delivery network,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The companies explained that under the agreement, when a customer opens the Mr D app, they will be offered a choice either to “buy groceries” or “buy food from restaurants”.

The Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty programme will be embedded in the Mr D app. By clicking on “buy groceries”, customers will enter a dedicated Pick n Pay “food and grocery experience”.

“Customers will be able to browse and select the items they want to buy, and conveniently create their baskets. Once the order is submitted and paid, Pick n Pay will pick and pack the order from the closest Pick n Pay store. It will then be collected by a member of the Takealot delivery fleet and delivered to the customer.”

The Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty programme will be embedded in the Mr D app so that customers will be able to earn points when buying Pick n Pay groceries on the Mr D app.

Pick n Pay CEO Pieter Boone said in the joint statement in a clear challenge to Shoprite Group’s market-leading Checkers Sixty60 app: “There is huge potential for omnichannel retail in this country. Through this agreement with Takealot, we intend to regain market leadership in online grocery, and to do so in a sustainable and profitable way. We plan to increase our online revenue eight-fold by the 2026 financial year.”

The companies plan to launch the service on a trial basis in the in Cape Town in August and to roll it out rapidly across the country so that it’s available nationwide by February next year.

The agreement between the companies comes as South Africans increasingly turn to e-commerce and on-demand shopping apps like Pick n Pay’s asap! and Checkers Sixty60.

Pick n Pay earlier revealed that Pick n Pay asap! grew its sales by 300% in the year to February 2022.

The retail group’s annual financial statements for the 52 weeks ended 27 February 2022 said that the relaunched app – previously known as Bottles – has enjoyed robust growth since its repositioning and rebranding. Pick n Pay did not disclose the revenue from asap! or even its percentage contribution to the group’s 2022 sales.