E-commerce News South Africa

Pick n Pay and Takealot partner to launch grocery platform on Mr D

Pick n Pay and the Takealot Group have signed a commercial services agreement that will enable customers across South Africa to buy Pick n Pay groceries and liquor from a new platform on the Mr D app.
Source: Supplied
Source: Supplied

Under the agreement, when a customer opens the Mr D app, they will be offered the choice either to “buy groceries” or “buy food from restaurants”. By clicking on “buy groceries”, customers will enter a dedicated Pick n Pay food and grocery experience. Customers will be able to browse and select the items they want to buy, and conveniently create their baskets.

Once the order is submitted and paid, Pick n Pay will pick and pack the order from the closest Pick n Pay store. It will then be collected by a member of the Takealot delivery fleet, and delivered to the customer.

The Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty programme will be embedded in the Mr D app so that customers will be able to earn points when buying Pick n Pay groceries on the Mr D app.

The service will launch on a trial basis in the Cape Town area in August 2022 and is expected to roll it out rapidly across the country. The service will be available nationwide by the end of FY23.

Combining strengths

This new service brings together the strengths of Pick n Pay and Takealot. Pick n Pay will bring its expertise in running fresh food and grocery, its nationwide store network, and its popular Smart Shopper loyalty programme, while the Takealot Group will bring its ability to satisfy online, its technical expertise, and its unrivalled delivery network.

Pick n Pay CEO Pieter Boone said: “This is a great day for customers. Pick n Pay already offers an excellent on-demand grocery service through Asap!. By working with the Takealot Group, customers will now be able to benefit from a bigger, better, faster, and more exciting offer. It will be the best of Pick n Pay now on Mr D, and benefiting from Takealot Group’s industry-leading platforms and service standards.

Regaining market leadership in grocery e-tail

“Alongside other initiatives we are announcing today, this is a new era for Pick n Pay and for its customers. There is huge potential for omnichannel retail in this country. Through this agreement with Takealot, we intend to regain market leadership in online grocery, and to do so in a sustainable and profitable way. We plan to increase our online revenue eight-fold by FY26.”

Takealot’s executive chairman, Kim Reid, said: “We are hugely excited to be partnering with the brand and the people at Pick n Pay, who share our values at the Takealot Group. Mr D’s 2.5 million customers will be delighted to see a Pick n Pay grocery offer on the platform. The combination of Pick n Pay’s reach, quality, and pricing together with Takealot Group’s leading technology and scalable delivery network is a recipe for success.

“Scalability will be a huge advantage. Takealot Group, at peak, currently delivers over 5 million packages per month, with the ability and ambition to serve many more customers as demand for this offer grows.”

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