The Sunday Times has released its Top Brands survey for 2018. The survey was based on the findings of more than 3,500 face-to-face interviews conducted with adults in metro and non-metro areas across South Africa.

One of the key focuses on the survey was the best loyalty programmes in South Africa – a feature which has proven to be particularly popular among South African consumers.

A July 2018 Eighty20 report found that the average South African consumer is subscribed to about 9 different rewards programmes, covering various sectors, from retail/grocery programmes to banking rewards.

However, South Africans also have clear favourites according to the Sunday Times survey.  According to its respondents, the best loyalty programmes in South Africa are as follows:

1. Pick n Pay Smart Shopper
2. Clicks Clubcard
3. Vodacom Rewards
4. Woolworths WRewards
5. FNB Ebucks
6. Nedbank Greenbacks
7. Standard Bank Ucount
8. Jet Thank U
9. Dischem
10. Edgars Thank U

Smart Shopper

Launched in March 2011 to reward loyal customers Pick n Pay’s Smart Shopper programme today has over seven million active customers, according to John Bradshaw, head of marketing at Pick n Pay.

Bradshaw noted that Smart Shopper’s priority has and always will be to offer real benefits and value in an ever-changing retail and economic environment.

“Everything we do is based on customer feedback. Customers have told us they love the innovations we’ve introduced over time and we will continue to improve and innovate the programme based on their input,” says Bradshaw.

“Customers told us they were seeking more immediate help to balance their household budgets. So, over the last six months we have offered R2.4 billion in personalised discounts, and the number of customer redemptions has more than doubled.” This is over and above the points customers earn on their purchases.”

The programme has also improved its accessibility to make it easier, simpler and faster for customers to maximise their rewards, he said.

Customers can now switch and spend their points at the till without using the in-store kiosks or PnP mobile app. Cashiers will prompt customers who have accumulated more than R5 if they’d like to use their points to pay towards their purchase, although customers can pay with any amount they have on their registered Smart Shopper card.

“Since this was launched we’ve already seen a 400% increase in customers switching their points if we compare to this time last year. This is something customers really wanted from our programme and based on the overwhelming response, customers are already experiencing the value of this enhancement.”

Other modernisations included enabling customers to load their discounts directly onto their Smart Shopper card via the app or their email. Card-less Swipe was also introduced so that customers no longer need to carry their Smart Shopper card with them. Customers who forgot their card at home, or choose to go card-less, can now simply scan the QR code from the Pick n Pay mobile app at the till.