Food and clothing retail giant, Pick n Pay, has announced that customers can now send digital grocery vouchers. It enables others to access essential items while encouraging contactless transactions as well.
In a time when many people are trying to support one another from a distance, this new capability could also be used to help our those in need and vulnerable loved ones without risks to their health.
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According to Richard van Rensburg, CIO at Pick n Pay, “many have been separated from their friends, family, domestic workers, staff or colleagues during lockdown. The new digital grocery voucher helps you virtually send essential food items to each other’s homes.”
The digital grocery vouchers can be purchased at any Pick n Pay Money counter or on Webtickets. Once purchased, the digital grocery voucher can be sent to anyone via email or SMS. The recipient will receive a unique voucher code, which is in turn used when making purchases at a Pick n Pay store. The voucher values range from R50 to R1,000 and can be used at any Pick n Pay location nationally.
Earlier in the month Pick n Pay also launched same-day grocery delivery. Via the service dubbed Grocery Essentials, the retailer can deliver groceries to customers directly from selected stores across the country on the same day.
With PnP being one of the businesses allowed to trade under the lockdown as an “essential service” grocer, this move is clearly aimed at leveraging off its position in the market.
They partnered with Bottles, an on-demand alcohol delivery app. Of course, Bottles isn’t allowed their usual trade during lockdown, and re-engineered their app from alcohol to grocery delivery in a matter of days. It assists Pick n Pay’s online shopping service deliver essential groceries, at store prices, to customers faster during the lockdown.
One thing is for sure – business have had to adapt extremely quickly during the coronavirus pandemic and the consumer will continue to benefit long after we return to a new ‘normal’.
