Pick n Pay is combining shoppable video with its AI grocery assistant to create new ways to discover products. (Image supplied)
Pick n Pay is turning its on-demand grocery platform into a social commerce channel, allowing customers to discover products through video content and add them directly to their baskets without leaving the app.
The retailer has launched Pick n Pay Inspire inside its Pick n Pay asap! mobile app, creating what it describes as “a first for a South African grocery retailer”.
According to the retailer, the move signals a shift in how Pick n Pay sees the role of its digital grocery platform, moving beyond traditional search, browsing and transactions towards a model where entertainment, product discovery and commerce are integrated into the same experience.
Pick n Pay runs a scrolling video feed in the app, showcasing recipes, product demonstrations, entertainment, clothing content and live-shopping content.
Products featured in videos are curated content that appears on screen based on customers’ personalised preferences and can be added directly to their basket, with grocery orders available for delivery within an hour.
The technology effectively brings a TikTok-style content experience into a transactional grocery environment.
Enrico Ferigolli, retail executive: omnichannel at Pick n Pay, says the objective is to eliminate the gap between discovering a product or recipe and actually purchasing the items needed.
“We’ve all done it – you spot a recipe on Instagram, screenshot it, open your grocery app and then try to remember what half the ingredients were. Two apps, one meal, various searches and inevitably something gets forgotten.
“With Pick n Pay Inspire, there are no screenshots, no searching and no trying to remember what you saw. It takes you from ‘I want that’ to ‘it’s in my basket’ in just a tap.”
Rather than requiring customers to see a recipe, product demonstration or other piece of content on one platform and then search for the products elsewhere, Inspire connects the content layer to Pick n Pay’s existing basket and fulfilment infrastructure.
The retailer is effectively attempting to collapse several stages of the digital shopping journey – discovery, consideration, product search, basket building and fulfilment – into a single application.
“Social commerce is about shortening the distance between seeing something and buying it. People increasingly discover what they want through content – whether it’s a recipe, a creator, a sporting moment or a product demonstration.
“Pick n Pay Inspire brings that behaviour into grocery shopping. Instead of having to leave the content, search for a product and complete your purchase elsewhere, the content, products, basket and fulfilment are all connected in one experience,” says Ferigolli.
Pick n Pay’s social-commerce push follows the recent launch of Penny, its AI-powered grocery shopping companion on the asap! app. Launched in July, Penny allows customers to interact with the grocery platform using natural language, voice or images rather than relying solely on conventional search and filters.
Together, Penny and Inspire point to two different approaches to reducing friction in online grocery shopping.
Penny is centred on conversational and multimodal discovery, while Inspire is centred on content-led discovery. Both ultimately connect discovery to Pick n Pay’s existing digital commerce and fulfilment infrastructure.
“The future of digital grocery is about making shopping feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of everyday life. Penny and Pick n Pay Inspire are two different ways of doing that.
“With Penny, you can ask what to make for dinner, show it a photo or simply tell it what you need. With Pick n Pay Inspire, you can discover something you want to make or try, and shop it there and then,” concludes Ferigolli.
