The future of shopping in SA is being rewritten by a technology race with retailers recognising that customer loyalty now hinges not on price, but on personalised, seamless digital experiences.
One such company is Pick n Pay, which is racing to overhaul its digital operations and close a widening technology gap with competitors as the sector becomes increasingly defined by data, AI and online shopping.
In a recent interview with Business Day, the group’s head of digital operations, Kerry Janse van Rensburg, said the retailer was under pressure to modernise fast as digital channels become critical growth drivers for the business.
“In practice, it means really driving digital innovation for the business,” she said.
“We need to concentrate on digital marketing, the ASAP app, technology and AI to really drive digital growth within the business.”
Janse van Rensburg, who joined the retailer earlier this year, admitted that Pick n Pay’s technology stack, particularly its marketing and customer analytics systems, remains outdated.
“The biggest gap currently is the technology stack from a marketing point of view. We talk about hyperpersonalisation, predictive analytics, AI, understanding your customer, which is not in place at Pick n Pay yet. That is one of my first goals.”
Her comments come while Pick n Pay is facing mounting competition in the digital space from rivals such as Shoprite, whose Checkers Sixty60 platform has redefined on-demand grocery delivery in SA. Global giants such as Walmart, which recently expanded its local footprint, are also expected to intensify the digital retail race.
“The sector is very competitive, especially with our turquoise friends,” Janse van Rensburg said, referring to Shoprite’s signature Checkers branding.
“To gain market share, we have to be strategic and clever in how we spend our budget, what we do from an innovation point of view and how we use our people and data. It is not going to be easy.”
Central to Pick n Pay’s digital strategy is its plan to leverage customer data from its Smart Shopper loyalty programme to deepen personalisation and boost sales.
“We’ve got a lot of Smart Shopper data; it is about understanding our customers and their shopping behaviour. If you go into one of our liquor stores and buy gin, we might send you a message or push notification suggesting a mixer. It’s about understanding behaviour and cross-selling or upselling on a personal level.”
The company is also working to better link its in-store and online experiences through partnerships with Meta, Google and customer data platform suppliers.
“We are developing the technology to understand what customers do online versus in-store,” Janse van Rensburg said.
“If you browse an item on the ASAP app but don’t check out, and then later swipe your Smart Shopper card for that same product in store, we can connect those journeys. That’s the goal.”
Janse van Rensburg acknowledged that local retailers, including Pick n Pay, were still lagging far behind international peers regarding adopting cutting-edge retail technology.
“I honestly think we need to catch up. If you see what’s happening overseas, in Paris, for example, I put seven items on the counter at Zara and it knew exactly what they were and what they cost without scanning. That kind of technology is the future of retail,” she said.
Despite the scale of the challenge, she said the company’s leadership was fully behind the digital turnaround plan.
“At a leadership level, they know they need to digitise the business, like yesterday.”
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