Pick n Pay published a trading statement for the 52 weeks ended 25 February 2024, revealing online sales growth of 74.4%.
The company said this growth was driven by ongoing improvements in the Pick n Pay asap! platform and its partnership with Mr D.
Looking ahead, the company says it will continue to reinforce its online business, among other things.
“The plan is primarily focused on turning around the Pick n Pay Supermarkets business, while reinforcing the Group’s strategic initiatives in the high growth Boxer, Pick n Pay Clothing and Online businesses, and unlocking value for shareholders,” said Pick n Pay.
Pick n Pay rebranded its Bottles delivery app in August 2021, allowing customers to order groceries online for delivery within as little as 60 minutes.
Bottles previously exclusively only offered an on-demand delivery service for alcohol.
Pick n Pay asap! has seen its online sales grow by approximately 300% since its relaunch.
The retailer reported online sales growth of 97.3%, including scheduled delivery, click and collect, and Asap!, during the first 18 weeks of the 2022/23 financial year.
At the same time, it announced plans to integrate with Takealot’s Mr D app, which it said would significantly increase its grocery delivery userbase.
The integration went live in October 2022, letting customers access the on-demand delivery service through a dedicated tab on the Mr D app.
Mr D CEO Alexander Wörz lauded Pick n Pay’s decision to partner with the company, saying it significantly ups the convenience factor for customers.
“This new dedicated grocery shopping experience with Pick n Pay through the Mr D app allows customers to shop over 10,000 food and grocery products — at the same price as in-store — for delivery in an hour,” he said.
“Customers place the order on the Mr D app, Pick n Pay does the picking in its stores, and Mr D’s delivery partners then collect and deliver the order to the customer.”
Pick n Pay then relaunched the Asap! delivery app in October 2023, adding enhanced search features and alternative product selections powered by artificial intelligence.
“Its improved functionality means customers can easily navigate the vast selection of products and place orders with just a few taps,” said Vincent Viviers, Pick n Pay’s omnichannel executive.
To celebrate the relaunch, Pick n Pay asap! delivered customer orders for free in October 2023.
Pick n Pay’s trading statement for the 52 weeks ended 25 February 2024 also revealed that the retailer’s sales growth remained relatively stagnant.
It recorded a slight decline of 0.2% for Pick n Pay stores, compared to a 0.1% decline the year prior.
However, strong performance from its Boxer business meant Pick n Pay saw an overall growth of 5.2% during the period. Boxer reported 17.5% sales growth.
Despite this, the Pick n Pay Group said it expects to report a loss for the 2023/24 financial year.
“The FY24 results have been negatively impacted by gross profit margin contraction and trading expense growth exceeding sales growth in Pick n Pay Supermarkets,” it said.
“The anticipated loss is entirely attributable to the performance of the Pick n Pay Supermarkets business.”
It noted that its Boxer and Pick n Pay Clothing businesses remain highly profitable.