Pick n Pay says revamped home-delivery app is driving strong growth

Home-delivery services have boomed in SA and the Pick n Pay service is competing against Sixty60, the market-dominating home delivery service of the Checkers retail chain. 

Pick n Pay updated its app in April this year and relaunched it amidst much fanfare, claiming the app’s search functionality had been significantly enhanced with a refined AI engine that delivers superior results. 

“The three full years of work to completely overhaul the app’s technology infrastructure, both on the back-end technology and on the front-end, have been worth it,” says Enrico Ferigolli, Pick n Pay Executive Head: Online.  

“Customers can now shop, earn, and save all in one seamless, intelligent and rewarding experience,” he adds in a press release. 

Ability to select preferred stores for delivery 

According to Pick n Pay, customers have particularly praised the ability to select preferred stores for delivery, access to the chain’s national network of hypermarkets with extended product ranges, and the functionality to spend Smart Shopper loyalty points. 

“The large majority of [customer] shops start with a search, so we optimised this feature,” Ferigolli says. “This best-in-class search knows what you previously bought, prioritising search results that match your shopping behaviour.” 

Pick n Pay’s full website relaunch, which enabled on-demand ordering capability, has resulted in over 200% growth in weekly website orders, the press release states. 

Growth remains strong across company-owned stores and franchise supermarkets have become a significant contributor to online expansion. 

A partnership with banking group FNB – and the ability of Pick n Pay customers to utilise its eBucks loyalty programme – is also said to be helping to drive the growth. 

“We have ambitious plans for further innovation in the coming year, including shopping lists, easy re-ordering of previous purchases, and meal planning features to help customers answer the question of ‘what’s for dinner’ more easily,” says Ferigolli.