Clickatell, a leader in mobile communications and chat commerce, has been selected by leading African retailer Pick n Pay, to manage their WhatsApp customer communication channel.

Customers can easily access Pick n Pay services by sending “Hi” to +27 60 070 3037. The easy to navigate menu then allows shoppers to choose which action they want to perform.

The Pick n Pay WhatsApp channel currently hosts catalogues, COVID-19 FAQs, store locator, as well as Smart Shopper card services and other customer services options.

In a statement released to the media, the partners explain that customers will be able to manage their Smart Shopper status and details via WhatsApp. This includes the ability for its nine million active Smart Shoppers to view their loyalty points balance, block their lost or stolen cards, as well as order card replacements.

Additionally, customers can quickly and easily update their personal details, as well as enter competitions.

“According to Forrester, retail is leading the way in chat adoption, and we are excited to provide an engaging experience for Pick n Pay customers in chat. Consumers love chat and with the broad reach of WhatsApp it is the perfect channel for Pick n Pay to serve their customers,” says Pieter de Villiers, CEO and Co-Founder at Clickatell.

Pick n Pay Smart Shopper has recently been named as the most used loyalty program in South Africa in the 2021 Truth & BrandMapp SA Loyalty Whitepaper.

“WhatsApp is a popular communication channel so it made sense to launch a chat option for our customers to engage with us whenever they choose. Customers are loving the WhatsApp messaging function and the opportunity to get store or Smart Shopper information within seconds,” says John Bradshaw, Head of Omnichannel at Pick n Pay.

Rise of chat commerce

Clickatell believes that chat commerce will emerge as a preferred channel for consumer trade and retail.

Last year the company predicted that the next billion people and millions of merchants will not be on-boarded websites, email, and point of sale devices. Rather, it will be through chat commerce experiences (where people engage and transact with businesses on the chat channels they already have on their mobiles).

According to the company research shows that consumers spend 90% of their screen time on five mobile apps – and chat apps rank number one. It also points to new Aberdeen research which shows that companies using chat capabilities enjoy 75% greater Y-o-Y growth and 89% greater annual growth in cross-sell and up-sell revenue.