Checkers Little Garden is back by popular demand, with millions of locally produced seedling kits that created employment for more than 150 people.

Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper loyalty programme has been named South Africa’s favourite loyalty programme for yet another year.

Consumers are being “trained” to buy only on promotion – and it can backfire on brands, warns Nielsen’s Kerith Botha.

Checkers is launching a new collectables campaign on Monday, 6 May – which will allow customers to build their own tiny versions of a Checkers supermarket.

South African consumers have saved billions of rands in loyalty programme rewards offered and are increasingly taking advantage of their reward points given the country’s tough economic climate, which is having an impact on consumer goods including fuel, electricity and food.

Retail giant Pick n Pay has responded to the negative feedback over their scratch card campaign by introducing a R20 free voucher for every R200 spent by customers.

In a first for supermarket retailing in South Africa, Checkers will be launching Ready to Chef meal kits. Developed by chefs, each meal kit consists of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card with a QR code to a how-to video.

South Africans have continued to sign up with loyalty programmes as a means of getting more bang for their buck.

Research shows that most people in SA belong to more than one programme, scoring cash or points and discounts on everything from travel to fuel, to healthy foods and activities, to washing powder