CAPE TOWN - After a major backlash by irate customers over the company's scratch-and-win card, Pick n Pay said that they will give shoppers a free R20 voucher to spend this weekend.
In early August, Pick n Pay announced that it would give it's customers a scratch card for every R200 spent at the store, in order to celebrate their 50th birthday.
The company said that shoppers could win small things like R5 airtime or larger prizes like a R10 000 shopping spree at Pick n Pay.
The competition seems to have backfired as a number of people have taken to Twitter to vent their frustration at not winning any prize.
Pick n Pay scratch cards are a scam
— Mbadweiser (@C_Mbadu) August 27, 2018
Idea: The Pick n Pay scratch cards should reveal a picture of a Gupta brother. If you correctly guess which one it is, you get a piece of substandard coal from the mine they swindled.
It’s educational plus better than the thing saying “no prize”. pic.twitter.com/9dsBQF2wjp
— Ranjeni Munusamy (@RanjeniM) August 28, 2018
Pick n Pay scratch card is the biggest scam ever in the history of scratch cards! 😤😤
— Papa Rea 🍫🍭 (@JustKB_ELO) August 28, 2018
I’m beginning to think those Pick ‘n Pay scratch cards are just a scam and non of them actually contain a prize pic.twitter.com/njJU2SkIiS
— Cardi Bier🍺 (@Gershforthewin) August 28, 2018
For World Entertaining visit https://t.co/1HCEoU3cDq Pick N Pay's Scratch Card Promotion Backfires Spectacularly https://t.co/KZTHBV70Pq pic.twitter.com/cegIKVMlsi
— LM BANKZ (@iamlmbanks) August 29, 2018
Redemption
Pick n Pay will now give every customer a R20 voucher for every R200 (or more) that you spend between Tuesday and Friday this week. The shoppers can then redeem the voucher on Saturday and Sunday.
Pick n Pay's marketing director told 702 radio that an estimated 350 000 winning scratch cards have been claimed.
The grocer has about 12 million customers each week, according to Pick n Pay and so there are a massive amount of people that are just not winning.
Bradshaw said: "So that's still plenty of people that are getting scratch cards and are not winning. I think it is about getting the balance right. This is a cherry on top of what we are doing."
“The scratch cards are given free to customers, which is a bit of fun on top of the great value we already provide,” Bradshaw told Business Insider SA.
The company said that 1 million prizes will be given to customers through the scratch cards.
Shoprite seems to have jumped on the band-wagon and are now celebrating their birthday with a similar deal. The low-cost grocer said that shoppers can get a scratch card but you just have to spend R50, though you can only get 2 cards per basket.
The company is giving its customers a chance to win R15 million worth of airtime, vouchers, mobile phones and even appliances.
Pick n Pay is aiming to create 15 000 jobs
Pick n Pay earlier announced this year that through investments worth billions of rand, plans to create employment for 15 000 people over the next few years.
At the company’s annual general meeting in July, Pick n Pay chairperson Gareth Ackerman said although South Africa was not yet over the worst, the country was heading in a distinctly more optimistic direction. He said more focus needed to be placed on creating employment.
“In just about every public survey, the number one priority for South Africans is employment. It’s not difficult to see why: with job security comes dignity, the ability to chart your own future, provide for your family and play a meaningful role in the economy,” said Ackerman.
He said that, over the past three years, Pick n Pay had invested R5.3 billion in opening and refurbishing stores and building its supply chain. These investments had created almost 14 000 new jobs.
He added that, over the next three years, Pick n Pay would look to create another 15 000 jobs. “This will bring many young people into the world of work and the opportunities that retail provides to build a career and progress in the world. But the firm’s impact is far wider: we work with about 10 000 suppliers, and last year spent nearly R68bn with them. This provides jobs to more than 400 000 people.”
Ackerman said about a million people were directly affected by being employed at Pick n Pay.
Pick n Pay spokesperson Tamra Veley said the retailer planned to create the 15 000 jobs by growing.
She said 124 new stores had been opened during the retailer’s current financial year, adding 3.1% to turnover growth and 3.3% to trading space.
“The group plans to invest a further R1.7bn next year in new stores, refurbishments and in building our supply chain capacity. Total retail trading space will increase by an estimated 3% in 2019, in line with this year,” said Veley.