Pick n Pay has launched a paid tier of its Smart Shopper loyalty programme at R99/month, the same price Shoprite charges for Xtra Savings Plus, the paid tier of its Checkers and Shoprite loyalty programme.

Smart Shopper Pro, announced on Thursday, gives members unlimited free deliveries on asap! orders over R350, triple points on fresh groceries, double points on BP fuel and an extra 10% off in-store shopping, capped at R200/month. Customers sign up in the asap! app. Smart Shopper itself remains free.

R99 is a launch price. Pick n Pay’s announcement on Friday does not say what Pro will cost afterwards, or when the launch price ends.

The 10% discount is narrower than it first appears. Pick n Pay says it applies to a maximum spend of R2 000/month “in one shop”, which suggests it covers a single shop, not all in-store spending.

The terms largely mirror Checkers’ Xtra Savings Plus, which Shoprite launched in 2023 with unlimited free Sixty60 deliveries on orders over R350 and 10% off one in-store shop a month, up to R200.

Pick n Pay argues that frequent online shoppers will recover the fee on delivery alone. “For customers ordering groceries online weekly, four deliveries a month would be worth R148 in delivery fees alone,” the company said.

“Customers are increasingly looking for practical ways to make their money go further,” said Vince Viviers, executive: innovation and digital transformation at Pick n Pay.

Racing Sixty60

Pro stacks with Smart Shopper’s free Live Well Club. On qualifying items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and chicken, members of both can earn six times the standard points. New members who sign up by 30 November get R99 off their next asap! order.

The launch comes days after Pick n Pay reported that its online sales grew 35.4% in the six months to 30 August, matching the 34.5% growth Shoprite reported for Sixty60 in its year to June. But Pick n Pay gave no rand figure for its online business. Sixty60 turned over R25.5-billion.

Shoprite has used its own R99 Xtra Savings Plus tier to lock in loyal customers. Pixie, its AI shopping assistant, was at first available only to paying members.