Pick n Pay will keep Smart Shopper Pro, its new paid loyalty tier, at its R99/month launch price “for a very extended period”, says Vince Viviers, executive: innovation and digital transformation at the retailer. If the price does change, customers will be told well in advance, “so that there are no sneaky surprises”.
In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Viviers tells Duncan McLeod how Pro, launched last month at the same price as Shoprite’s Xtra Savings Plus, is meant to pay its way. A customer who orders weekly on asap! would pay about R148 a month in delivery fees alone, he says.
For Pick n Pay, the prize is loyalty. “Once you commit to paying monthly to be part of a specific programme, then your focus is: how do I unlock the most value here?” Members spend more and shop more often, Viviers says, much of it at competitors’ expense.
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With rival apps now much alike, he argues, shoppers will choose on product. Fresh food, the biggest part of the basket and the reason people shop every week, is where Pick n Pay thinks it can win. It is also where Amazon, whose Prime service costs R59 a month, has struggled, though Viviers counts it as a competitor already.
He also explains why Pick n Pay is considering dark stores in busy metros, and how Takealot’s Mr D app has brought it new customers. Penny, its AI shopping assistant, has lifted basket sizes and shopping frequency, he says, but he gives no figures. Nor does Pick n Pay disclose the size of its online business, whose sales grew 35.4% in the six months to 30 August.
Next is personalisation. Viviers says Pick n Pay is moving to “a much more one-to-one model”, with new features due in asap! and Smart Shopper over the next six to 12 months.
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