Wed Nov 21 14:48:00 UTC 2012
Shoprite and Checkers announce an African first with Instant Shopping Discounts on Cellphones
In a first on the African continent, the Shoprite Group of Companies has announced that consumers will now be able to get instant shopping discounts on their cell phones to redeem at Shoprite and Checkers stores.
The new innovative mobile coupons, EeziCoupons, are set to revolutionise outdated paper coupons. They are available to all South Africans to enhance the consumers’ shopping experience and bring considerable savings to South Africans.
Getting the mobile coupons is easy, consumers simply need to view coupons on their cellphones, purchase those products in store and enter their one unique code, called a WiCode at the till’s pin pad in the store.
The total discount will then automatically be taken off their total shopping amount and they will see their savings at the bottom of their till slips. Consumers will have access to almost R1500 worth of savings with one easy code on their cellphones for all coupons available – no printing or cutting is required.
Mr Whitey Basson, CEO of the Shoprite Group, said of the innovative coupons, that digital technology – in particular smartphones – has made consumers even more powerful than before. “It offers consumers a multitude of choice, information and access to bargains. It is also a new and more affordable channel for entertainment and retailers must keep pace.
“Affordable smart phones and tablets bring a new era of mass personalization which means retailers need to think and act in a multichannel way. We can’t just deliver what consumers want today, but we have to anticipate how to meet their needs tomorrow,” he said.
This initiative allows Shoprite and Checkers to consolidate their rich customer data on shopping preferences into a single data repository. It allows the group to communicate targeted relevant offerings, based on consumers’ preferences without the significant start up and incentive costs of a loyalty card.
EeziCoupons are available on a number of other Shoprite and Checkers’ digital channels including USSD, mobi sites, websites, Facebook and a Checkers smartphone application for iPhone and Blackberry users. The app also provides helpful tools that make it easier to shop and save, such as latest deals, how to find your nearest stores, store hours and a shopping list for extra convenience. With the application, Checkers also becomes the first supermarket to launch a smartphone application in South Africa.
The EeziCoupons are made possible through the integration of the WiCode platform, a product of WiGroup at the supermarkets’ point of sale. The technology also enables future applications such as the enablement of mobile money transfers and mobile payments at the till points.
Consumers can easily access the coupons as follows:
Checkers Mobi – http://m.checkers.co.za
Shoprite Mobi – http://shoprite.mobi
Checkers USSD - *120*885#
Shoprite USSD - *120*569#
Checkers iPhone App – download from Apple’s App Store
Checkers Blackberry App –download from Blackberry World
Checkers Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/checkerssa
Notes:
USSD - Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is a protocol used by Global System for Mobile (GSM) cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider's computers. USSD can be used for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browsing, prepaid callback service, mobile-money services, location-based content services, menu-based information services, and as part of configuring the phone on the network.