Pick n Pay has just launched South Africa’s first major grocery-chain loyalty programme. According to CEO Nick Badminton, how much a customer spends at the stores (and also online — this will be rolled out shortly) will determine how big the reward for loyalty.
Pick n Pay (including franchise stores) records about 50-million transactions a month, which will translate into big savings for shoppers, collectively speaking, if they join the programme.
The concept is simple. The “smart shopper” programme will see customers signing up, swiping cards and switching points (for cash, or for more goods, or as a donation) to spend or share their money once they have amassed 1 000 points. You get a “smart point” for every rand you spend, and for every 1 000 points you get R10 to spend on your next purchase. This equates to 1%, which is not huge, but in these tough times it’s definitely better than nothing.
According to Bronwen Rohland, Pick n Pay’s marketing and sustainability director, one point per every rand spent is comparable to other loyalty programmes, such as Clicks, The Body Shop and Exclusive Books.
Where shoppers will be able to score is on special offers and “shopping sprees”, where you can get double or triple points, and bonus points.
Discovery Vitality members will be pleased to know that smart shopper doesn’t have any impact on Vitality point-scoring: the two programmes will run in tandem. Although Pick n Pay press material says you need to swipe both cards to obtain benefits, in-store joining forms say the cards are linked so you can swipe just the smart shopper card to receive dual benefits. Rohland cleared this up for me by saying that although customers have to swipe both cards at the moment, a co-branded card will be launched soon.
Customers will also be able to donate to a charity or environmental cause when switching points, which is a quick-and-easy way to make a charitable donation. Or the points can be converted into cash.
Important points:
- As with any loyalty card, you have to present it at the till to get points. No card, no swiping, no points.
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