by Tech Talk | Nov 9, 2022 | Articles
Pick n Pay has launched an online homeware store. Called Pick n Pay Home, the online shopping site plans to sell products that are not available in physical retail stores.
The launch, which will see the retailer locking horns with the likes of Yuppiechef, Mr Price Home and @home, comes as South African consumers become more accustomed to shopping online, especially since the Covid-19 lockdowns encouraged many people to consider e-commerce for the first time.
Pick n Pay Home will sell premium brands, including Siemens, Staub and Zwilling, exclusively online, the retail group said in a statement on Tuesday. Nationwide delivery typically takes between two and five days and costs R99, while delivery is free for purchases over R500.
“There are thousands of products across various categories that customers can shop from. These include large and small appliances, televisions and tech, home and kitchenware, baby, and outdoor,” it said in the statement.
Interestingly, the group wants to entice people into its new online store by offering 10% back on every purchase to spend in Pick n Pay stores, redeemable over 10 months, through its Smart Shopper loyalty programme.
The company has stepped up its online initiatives, partnering recently with Takealot Group’s Mr D for grocery deliveries. In July, Pick n Pay said it had seen a near doubling in online sales year on year in the reporting period ended 3 July.
In an unrelated development, the retailer also announced last week that it has begun accepting bitcoin at the point of sale at 39 of its stores ahead of a nationwide roll-out. – NewsCentral Media
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by Tech Talk | Nov 2, 2022 | Articles
Pick n Pay has expanded its Bitcoin payments trial to 39 stores across South Africa’s major cities, the retailer has announced. It plans to roll out to all its stores in the coming months.
“While for many years crypto was something for specialists on their computers, or used by early adopters trying it out, things are changing,” Pick n Pay stated.
According to the retail giant, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s recent declaration of cryptocurrency as a financial product paves the way for cryptocurrency as a mainstream payment method.
“Increasingly, cryptocurrency is being used by those under-served by traditional banking systems, or by those wanting to pay and exchange money in a cheaper and really convenient way,” it said.
Pick n Pay said its latest pilot tested Bitcoin payment service technology that lets customers buy groceries with cryptocurrency at till points with any Bitcoin Lightning-enabled app, such as BlueWallet or Muun.
“The transaction is as easy and secure as swiping a debit or credit card,” Pick n Pay said.
“Customers scan a QR code from the app and accept the Rand conversion rate on their smartphone at the time of the transaction.”
It said the service fee for each transaction is minimal, costing on average 70 cents, and takes less than 30 seconds.
Pick n Pay ran the pilot in ten Western Cape stores over the past five months with pre-selected testers.
This included Bitcoin Ekasi in Mossel Bay, which pays coaches from the non-profit organisation The Surfer Kids in Bitcoin while onboarding township vendors to accept the cryptocurrency as payment.
“As the local Pick n Pay store now accepts Bitcoin, the coaches and children can spend their earnings more widely and conveniently than before,” Pick n Pay said.
In 2017, Pick n Pay ran a pilot in the canteen store at its head office in Cape Town.
This proved the concept, but the retailer said the available technology at the time was too expensive for shoppers, and it took too long to finalise the transaction to make it sustainable.
“This new technology means we can provide an affordable service for high volume, low-value transactions that will promote financial inclusion in South Africa,” says Pick n Pay chief information technology officer Chris Shortt.
Pick n Pay has partnered with Electrum and CryptoConvert on its latest pilot.
Electrum’s payment platform connects Cryptoconvert and Pick n Pay, letting customers pay with the Bitcoin Lightning technology at the till point.
“As a key technology provider, Electrum has a long history of partnering with Pick n Pay to bring innovative payment solutions to South Africans,” said Electrum CEO Dave Glass.
CryptoConvert founder Carel van Wyk, who also co-founded South Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said crypto payments are still in their infancy in South Africa.
“But we are already seeing adoption in parts of our society that haven’t previously had access to traditional financial systems,” Van Wyk said.
CryptoConvert allows merchants to accept crypto payments.
Van Wyk said blockchain technology and the systems it enables, like the Lightning Network, are rapidly evolving to help faster, cheaper transactions and more price-stable tokens.
“Cryptocurrency combines the convenience of cash with the safety and security of electronic identification measures, like biometrics and cryptographic encryption,” Van Wyk said.
“It is also cheaper than credit cards or the cost of cash handling. But more importantly, it is a digital payment that is open to anyone, including those unable to use traditional digital payment options.”
The list of Pick n Pay stores supporting Bitcoin payments is as follows:
- Langeberg Mall, Mosselbay
- Sedgefield
- Stellenbosch Central and Stellenbosch Square
- Paarl Mall
- Willowbridge
- Local Big Bay
- Table Bay Mall
- Cavendish
- Kenilworth
- Kenilworth Campus
- Kenilworth Pam Golding
- Seapoint
- Waterfront
- Mall of Africa
- Mall of the North
- Mall of the South
- Menlyn Mall
- Nelspruit
- PnP on Nicol
- Liberty Midlands Mall
- The Pavilion
- Tshwane Mall
- Beacon Bay
- Uitenhage
- Bedfordview
- Centurion
- Fourways Mall
- PnP Qualisave Carlton Centre
- PnP Qualisave Diepsloot
- PnP Qualisave Midrand
- PnP Qualisave Rustenburg
- PnP Qualisave Commercial Road
- PnP Qualisave North Beach
- PnP Qualisave The Workshop
- PnP Qualisave Goodwood
- Hyper Bloemfontein
- Hyper Durban North
- Hyper Northgate
- Hyper Ottery
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by Tech Talk | Oct 20, 2022 | Articles
Pick n Pay wants to ditch Eskom in favour of alternative electricity sources, the grocery retailer’s CEO Pieter Boone said.
The company says it is investing in alternative sources to keep its operations afloat and is in discussions with landlords to end its reliance on South Africa’s national power grid.
“It’s part of our strategic initiative and also part of the plan in relation to our ESG [environmental, social and governance] strategy,” Boone said.
“And of course, we are in close contact and in discussions with the landlords where we occupy [sites] in centres in order to find alternative sources than only electricity from the grid.”
The move isn’t Pick n Pay’s first involving alternative power sources, with the retailer partnering with Fortress Real Estate Investments (REIT) to develop its solar-powered Eastport distribution centre in 2021.
“You will see in our new Eastport DC, we are fully on solar, and as a consequence of that, the building will have a green label,” Boone said during the interview.
According to a Fortress REIT press release, it will ultimately own 40% of the development, with Pick n Pay holding a majority share of 60%. It expects to complete the project by June 2023.
“Fortress will fund the incremental capital required for the development from existing available facilities,” it said.
The distribution centre is located at the Eastport Logistics Park near the OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, and will cover 36 hectares with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
Before June 2021, Pick n Pay’s solar-powered distribution centre likely wouldn’t have been allowed as the limit for private power generation was set at a single megawatt.
However, on 10 June 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he would increase the embedded generating electricity capacity threshold from 1MW to 100MW, allowing households and businesses to build much bigger self-generating power privately.
Ramaphosa then announced he was lifting the threshold entirely in July 2022 as part of his plan to fix Eskom and end load-shedding.
The government’s decision to raise the licencing threshold to 100MW unlocked a pipeline of more than 80 confirmed private sector projects with a combined capacity of over 6,000MW.
Due to the enthusiasm with which the private sector received the invitation to produce their own power, Ramaphosa said the government would remove the embedded generation threshold.
Pick n Pay is not alone in its quest to escape Eskom, with a section of the Linbro Park suburb in Johannesburg announcing its intentions to ditch the power utility and get electricity from a private power producer instead in May 2022.
Greenstone Energy asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for permission to supply the area with electricity using gas-powered plants.
It would serve 1,781 households, three offices, two schools, two churches, a hotel, and a conference centre.
The move came after the suburb’s residents and businesses suffered 66 days of power outages on top of their typical load-shedding schedule.
South African Independent Power Producers Association chair Tommy Garner stated that Eskom was not meeting the requirements of its distribution licence in the area.
The suburb plans to acquire an initial 1MW of gas generation from Greenstone, which will increase to 5.8MW as developments in the area expand.
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