Latest news with #PicknPay
Zawya
21 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Pick n Pay Mobile rolls out app with eSIM, loyalty perks
Pick n Pay has launched a new app for its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service, introducing instant eSIM activation, self-RICA functionality, custom mobile plans and expanded loyalty rewards. The move forms part of its broader shift towards digitising mobile services and improving user autonomy. The app allows new customers to register, verify their identity and activate a mobile number without a physical SIM or in-store visit. eSIM functionality is available for compatible smartphones, and physical SIMs remain available at retail locations. The platform also introduces a 'Build Your Own Plan' feature, allowing users to set their own monthly data, voice and SMS allocations. Plans are valid for 30 days and automatically renew unless cancelled. Customers can top up, track usage and make changes directly within the app. The service remains linked to Pick n Pay's Smart Shopper loyalty programme. Mobile customers earn 1MB of data for every R1 spent in-store, provided they recharge with a minimum of R20. A new loyalty tier has also been introduced: customers who use the app consistently for six months receive 5% back on their monthly mobile spend, increasing to 10% after nine months. Pick n Pay launched its MVNO in 2020, operating on MTN's network. The service is powered by Huge NXTGN, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Huge Group. The company provides the infrastructure that enables embedded mobile services within retail brands. Pick n Pay says the new app is aimed at reducing barriers to mobile access while expanding functionality for users who prefer self-service. The update is also positioned to support increased digital engagement with its customer base. 'We're delighted to have been in a position to assist Pick 'n Pay in bringing their next-generation proposition to market. Huge NXTGN's purpose is to empower businesses of all sizes to harness the power of embedded connectivity services and to remove the friction and cost typically associated with launching mobile services,' says Jason Harmsen, managing director of Huge NXTGN.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Don't miss free diabetes screening at La Lucia Mall
DIABETES South Africa Durban is offering free glucose and blood pressure testing at La Lucia Mall on Wednesday, July 30 from 09:00 until 15:00 (lower level near Pick n Pay). Sean Gunn of the NGO explained that the purpose of the screening is to create awareness on diabetes while also educating people on the disease. 'We also hope to provide preventative education against contracting diabetes. Screening is vital because it detects the early onset of diabetes, and offers support to those who are already diabetic. It also assists those who know very little about their illness. Prevention is better than cure and it is never more true when it comes to diabetes, because it can actually be prevented and in cases of Type 2 diabetes, it can be reversed,' he explained. Also read: Where to get free mental health care in Durban 'Our vision and mission has always been to empower individuals with diabetes to live healthy lives, and to be a united voice for people with diabetes in South Africa. At this stage there is only this free screening planned, but I am confident that there will be more in the next few months, especially with November being World Diabetes Month.' The NGO will also be joined by Dr. Andrea Rohrbeck, an Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA) registered chiropractor in Glenashley. She has a special interest in neuropathy and the drug-free treatment thereof. 'A free neuropathy screening will be offered utilising technology like thermal imaging, a non-invasive method to check for impaired blood flow. Part of neuropathy screenings look at altered sensation for example, burning, tingling, numbness or pain from nerve damage, usually in the hands and feet, and diabetes can sometimes be a factor in that,' she said. For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook , X or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
SA practising damaging politics of the zero-sum game
While there are many prisms through which you can attempt to understand our politics, one may be to examine whether people see the entire process as a zero-sum game. There may now be mounting evidence that more politicians and voters believe every single issue must be reduced to winners and losers. Anyone with much experience of life will be aware that, as a general rule, when life improves for one person, it often improves for another. This happens in an economy all the time. It is well known that one restaurant in one city block might be popular enough to bring in a certain number of customers. But a group of competing restaurants in the same place are much more likely to bring in a much bigger number. In other words, you are more likely to be successful through sharing space with other restaurants. Growing an economy might well rest on this. One cannot just make a product and sell it on your own. You need to be part of a chain that enables your market and ensures you have both suppliers to help you make your product, and customers to buy it. People who are thinking over the longer term will often make decisions that will cost them in the short run, because they expect to gain in the longer run. Last week, Moneyweb reported that some suppliers to Pick n Pay were actually giving it goods at lower than usual prices. While this costs them in the short run, they don't want a situation where Checkers becomes so dominant they only have one person to sell to. This means that they are helping someone to regain market share. In the case of South Africa, with its incredibly diverse constituencies, and defined by its inequality, the idea of people helping one another might well be more important than in many other places. Winners and losers The nature of our economy requires everyone to be working in the same direction. Instead, what we have is people simply fighting really hard not to be the losers, and others not the winners. Currently, 50 proposals to change the Labour Relations Act are going through Nedlac. While labour analyst Andrew Levy says it's not clear if they really change the balance between workers and managers, several groups and unions have already held a protest against the proposals. They believe that their members might soon lose out, and managers might win. This kind of situation happens all the time in our society. In our politics, the coalition sometimes appears to be reduced to fights between the ANC and the DA that are literally about ensuring one wins and the other loses. Because this is all happening in public, and they are representing constituencies, it can give the impression that those constituencies are really fighting to ensure they are not seen to lose. This transactional approach, and the damage it can cause, is wonderfully, and horrifically, illustrated by the Trump administration's approach to trade. One of the most important dynamics of the past 30 years has been the rise of China as a manufacturer of trade goods. It has made these goods at a cheaper price than many other places, and sold them. This has exported deflation around the world – the price of a cheap bicycle has declined dramatically in real terms since the 1980s. This is largely because companies in different countries have traded with each other. And both parties have become very rich doing so. Trump appears to believe that if one country is getting rich, the other must be losing out. The overwhelming evidence is that this is not the case. Instead, both parties win through these transactions. In some ways, such is the impact of the US, that this example might well be having an impact on our politics. At the same time, another important aspect of how life really works is being lost. In many cases, there is no clear 'winner' and clear 'loser'. Often it is entirely grey, with very little difference in shade. The NHI stand-off In our politics now, it seems that everything must become a life and death situation, that there will be armageddon if someone does not get what they want. Given our inequality, this can sometimes appear as if it is a life-and-death struggle between classes. The NHI might be a useful example: those who support it say the rich are trying to condemn the poor to death, those who oppose it say the rich will lose everything they have. Instead, this is something that should really be negotiated between representatives of constituencies. And there should be a solution that everyone can live with. There are many reasons why we are in this situation. Our racialised inequality must be an important reason. Those who are poor have everything to gain and nothing to lose, while those who are rich have everything to lose and nothing to gain. But this may also be the result of deliberate political strategy. Just as politicians have created abortion as a political issue in the US, by forcing people to take a position, so our leaders often do the same. Both the ANC and the DA benefit from continuing the fight around the NHI. They both get to demonstrate to their constituencies that they are fighting for them. And because the struggle for voters is now so difficult and so intense, the stakes rise each time, and so it is more likely that politicians will behave in this way. All of this feeds an artificial intensity in our politics.
The Citizen
6 days ago
- General
- The Citizen
St Benedict's learners unite for Mandela Month with school-wide acts of kindness
St Benedict's learners unite for Mandela Month with school-wide acts of kindness True to their motto Veritas in Caritate (truth in charity), the St Benedict's College Junior Prep and Preparatory School community marked Mandela Month with meaningful acts of generosity and service. Each learner took part, proving that even small gestures can make a big difference. Grade 00 and Grade 0 learners prepared and donated 125 sandwiches and 90 pieces of fruit to the Elandsvallei Home for the Aged in Primrose. ALSO READ: Mandela Day sparks generosity across Germiston as groups give back Grades one and two focused their support on the St Francis Care Centre, Rainbow Cottage. 'Grade Ones collected 22 packs of nappies, 10 tins of formula, 54 jars of baby food, 18 baby creams and washes, 19 packs of wet wipes, baby clothes, and 10 bags of toys,' said head of marketing Mpumi Motsabi. Grade Two learners gathered 120 canned goods, 11 bags of rice, 22 cleaning products, as well as tea, sugar, pasta, cooking oil, coffee, soup, maize meal, cereal, spices, stock cubes, and lentils. ALSO READ: Avril Elizabeth Home invites community to Mandela Day Walk-A-Thon fundraiser Grade Threes supported the Khanyisa Trust, a soup kitchen run by the Bedfordview Methodist Church, with a large donation of fresh vegetables. Their contribution included 40 bags of potatoes, 10 bags each of sweet potatoes and butternut, four pumpkins, 15 bags of gem squash, 15 cabbages, 50 bags of carrots, and 40 bags of onions. ALSO READ: Jenny Wu Sports Academy embraces the spirit of Mandela Day everyday Grades four to seven joined forces with Assumpta Catholic Primary School, packing an impressive 2 568 soup packs in just 67 minutes. These will benefit more than 10 000 people, distributed through The Father's Hand, an outreach initiative led by school chaplain Fr Thabo and the Assumpta community in Sharpeville. This large-scale initiative was made possible thanks to the generosity of parents, learners, and retail partner Pick n Pay. 'St Benedict's extends special thanks to Pick n Pay for supporting our Grade Five learners on Mandela Day,' added Motsabi.
Zawya
17-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Food, convenience and loyalty redefine South Africa's fuel stops
As fuel volumes decline and competition intensifies, South Africa's forecourt retailers are shifting their focus beyond the pump toward food, convenience, and partnerships that drive loyalty and spending. Trade Intelligence's latest Forecourt Retail Report sheds light on a channel under pressure, yet actively adapting. Forecourts are evolving into dynamic convenience hubs, embracing partnerships and diversified services to preserve margins and unlock new growth. The fuel that once defined the forecourt is no longer enough to sustain it. Beyond the pump: understanding foot traffic dynamics While fuel volumes have declined by 6.3% over the past year, the number of South African forecourts has grown by +12% over five years. This increased competition, coupled with the increasing dependency on alternate revenues (due to declining fuel sales), creates an environment where the battle for shopper footfall has become the defining challenge – and opportunity – for fuel retailers. To attract shoppers, forecourt operators are investing in three key levers: - Retail partnerships with supermarket brands - Loyalty programmes, often linked to financial or retail partners - Value-added services, from fast-food outlets to parcel lockers and app-based deliveries 1. Retailer partnerships: footfall through familiarity Retailer partnerships are now a hallmark of the forecourt experience. From Woolworths Foodstops at Engen to Pick n Pay Express at bp and FreshStop at Astron Energy, 849 forecourts now host supermarket-branded stores, a +26% increase over five years. Trade Intelligence research shows that forecourt shoppers have a clear preference for supermarket-branded stores over fuel-branded ones, seeking the familiarity and quality offered by established retail brands. 2. Loyalty pogrammes: driving traffic through rewards Fuel providers are increasingly tapping into the power of loyalty programmes. Most major players, Shell, Sasol, Astron Energy, TotalEnergies and bpSA, run their own rewards programmes. At the same time, they are integrating with established retailer and financial institution loyalty ecosystems. Examples include earning Clicks ClubCard points when filling up at Engen, or fuel cashback via Discovery at bp and Shell. The impact is measurable: the Standard Bank UCount partnership with Astron/Caltex, which offers up to R10 per litre cashback, resulted in an +83% increase in customer traffic to Astron Energy versus competitors. 'This demonstrates how well-executed loyalty initiatives can influence forecourt choice,' says Andrea Slabber, insights lead at Trade Intelligence. 'These collaborations are strategic levers to attract footfall by tapping into an existing loyalty base to draw that spend onto their site.' 3. A broader offering: fueling convenience From quick-service restaurants (QSRs) to mini-supermarkets and parcel collection points, forecourts are expanding their role in everyday convenience. The integration of diverse offerings is creating one-stop destinations that resonate with today's time-pressed shoppers. Notable examples include: - Seattle and Vida e Caffè counters inside Astron Energy forecourts - KFC and Pedro's drive-throughs at Shell and bp stations - Pargo pick-up points and Pudo lockers for parcel collection - bpSA's planned rollout of 40 new sites featuring services like licence disk renewals and battery rentals These offerings tap into convenience shoppers' needs, deepening relevance and increasing footfall beyond the fuel tank. Convenience sales rise as fuel margins are squeezed The numbers tell a compelling story. While fuel sales still account for most forecourt revenue in SA, they fell by 4.2% in 2024. Convenience store sales, meanwhile, increased by +4.0%. In the US, although non-fuel categories contribute only 30–40% of forecourt sales, they deliver 60% of gross profit – emphasising the growing importance of non-fuel revenues. The South African consumer's relationship with forecourts is shifting from a pure fuel stop to a desire for convenient, on-the-go solutions. A remarkable 75% of forecourt shoppers surveyed by Trade Intelligence in June 2025 said that they intend to maintain or increase their visits, highlighting the rising relevance of forecourt convenience. The message is clear: the shop matters. Speedy shoppers The average forecourt shopper spends just 3.5 minutes in-store. This incredibly tight window underscores the importance of strategic merchandising. Stocking the right range, clear category layout, impulse-ready positioning, and fast-moving combo offers all play a role. Traditionally seen as more expensive, forecourt stores are starting to shift away from 'convenience surcharges' toward value promotions and regular deals. Combo offers on coffee and pies, daypart-based energy drink discounts, and creative cross-merchandising are all attempts to increase basket size. Getting this right requires tight collaboration between suppliers and retailers – at both national and store level – to ensure the right range, price points, and promotions are in place to meet shopper expectations. Small format, big potential South Africa's forecourt retail sector is at an exciting juncture. With the right combination of retail partnerships, shopper insight, and execution focus, forecourts are well-positioned to evolve into full-fledged convenience hubs – designed to meet today's shopper expectations and to unlock tomorrow's growth. The Forecourt Retail Report is available for download.
