BUSINESS NEWS - South Africa’s second-largest supermarket group Pick n Pay is making steep cuts to its Smart Shopper loyalty programme. From March 30, cashback points will be earned for every R2 spent at its stores, from R1 previously. Simply put, you now need to spend R200 to get R1 back, from the rate of R100 to get R1 back until now. This means PnP has halved the cashback rate to customers from 1% to 0.5%.

The retailer is characterising the change as one that makes the rewards programme “more rewarding and more personal”. In an e-mail to members, Adrian Naude, group executive: Marketing, says that “from now on, Smart Shopper is going to give… personal discounts every week, based on… actual shopping habits”.

“Our aim is to give you over R500 in personal discounts over the year, focusing on the products you already buy.” It also mentions the change to how points are earned, but this aspect of the programme has been somewhat ‘de-emphasised’ on its website. It has managed to somehow also intertwine this change with its anniversary: in published ‘frequently asked questions’, the retailer says: “It’s our 50th anniversary this year, so we’re going to invest more than ever before in savings for our customers.”