Pick n Pay revealed on Tuesday that its on-demand online delivery app, 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.

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 said it has made “significant enhancements” to its mobile app and its in-store picking interface to simplify the user experience. This includes improved navigation, ordering and checkout. This has “led to notable improvements in the reliability and speed of the services, with product availability maintained at over 95%”.

Pick n Pay asap! is now available in 392 supermarkets and liquor stores.

Omnichannel proposition

The retail giant said on-demand grocery retail is only one element of its omnichannel proposition, which includes a traditional scheduled delivery service, a Click n Collect service and an online clothing offering.

“The group’s combined online offer has delivered compound annual growth of 72.5% over two years. The group believes that online grocery sales will continue to expand in South African and intends to grow its omnichannel offer and presence significantly.”