Pick n Pay to pay for 17,000 customers’ shopping baskets

Pick n Pay is helping to feed South African families with R10m of free groceries. Image: Supplied.

Pick n Pay is helping to feed South African families with R10m of free groceries. Image: Supplied.

Published May 17, 2023

Share

As more South Africans look to loyalty programmes to help cut back on their monthly budgets as the cost of living crisis in the country spirals out of control, Pick n Pay has announced that they will be paying for lucky shoppers' grocery bills.

One of the largest retail stores in the country, Pick n Pay, said that it would be rewarding their Smart Shoppers by randomly selecting one winner from every store nationwide every day until 18 June 2023 to win their entire shopping for free.

Pick n Pay said that it also aims to give away up to R10 million in free groceries over six weeks.

“The initiative aims to provide some relief to shoppers during a difficult period while also creating moments of true excitement. The initiative, launched on 8 May 2023, has already surprised over 2,700 winners with a free shop collectively valued at R1,6 million. Two customers walked out with a free shop worth more than R10,000 each, much to their considerable delight,” Pick n Pay said in a statement.

To qualify to win, customers need to swipe their registered Smart Shopper card and buy any two participating products.

The winners will be notified at the till point, and their groceries will be packed into a limited-edition golden reusable bag before they walk away with their entire basket or trolley of groceries, free of charge.

The Smart Shopper programme is one of the country's biggest loyalty reward programmes, dedicated to giving customers real value.

Pick n Pay said that it hopes the initiative will provide some relief to customers who are currently under huge pressure.

Consumers contending with rolling blackouts imposed by the ailing state-owned power utility, Eskom, also had to deal with interest rates increasing, see-sawing fuel prices and inflation, driving food products higher.

Research shows that more shoppers are using loyalty programmes to save money when shopping.

But additional benefits, beyond instant savings, are important. BrandMapp’s research shows that the top benefit loyalty members enjoy a cash-back reward.

According to Andrew Mills, Group Executive: Marketing at Pick n Pay, the retailer remains committed to delivering benefits to its customers for their current and future shopping trips.

“In these challenging economic times, customers are looking for more ways to save money, and our Smart Shopper programme offers just that. Customers enjoy immediate savings by swiping their card at the till points and accumulating points that can be used as cash-back on their later shopping trips.”

Mills notes that more customers are turning to loyalty programmes now to unlock value and savings. “We have seen a record number of customers redeeming their Smart Shopper points since we launched the programme 12 years ago.”

BUSINESS REPORT