Pick n Pay and Naspers-owned Takealot Group have signed 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, its technical expertise, and its unrivalled delivery network,” the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
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”.
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.”
Cape Town trial
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.
Earlier on Tuedsay, Pick n Pay 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. – © 2022 NewsCentral Media
