How Checkers quietly won the delivery app wars
Ididn’t really believe that Checkers would actually take 60 minutes to deliver the groceries I had just ordered, but I was happy to get them the same day. I’d heard people raving about the new Sixty60 app even before that economic elephant called the Covid-19 lockdown trampled all over us.
I downloaded it because I’d seen the advert in this very DM168 newspaper. Not only was I pleased to see the launch of a new newspaper (a good democracy needs all the voices it can get), but also to see that the paper had a decent share of advertising, including a rather cheeky Checkers ad in a newspaper sold exclusively through Pick n Pay stores.
I like a good (digital) underdog and I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly good the Checkers app is.
First, it does take the advertised time. That alone is noteworthy.
But the most enjoyable thing is how slick the m-commerce interface is. As a long-time online shopper, I’ve been beta-tested by everyone since Amazon. Some mobile apps are, well, frustrating. The interface isn’t optimised properly for mobile, so buying something, or adding it to a wish list, can sometimes require multiple click-throughs to individual pages, then back. Again. And again.
What a joy that Sixty60 lets you add a product or change the number of items you’re buying or delete it right next to the search result. It’s a much smoother, less time-wasting experience.
I’ve watched how the app had evolved over the past few months.
The latest iteration offers a helpful option to select an alternative — this is a broad category option at checkout, and I always say “don’t bother”.
Uncharacteristically, because I despise unnecessary notifications as much as Jacob Zuma hates accountability, this time I left the option on.
During my last order, I noticed the notifications coming through, in real time, as someone packed my basket at the store in the Blubird shopping centre in Melrose, which is the closest.
As the missing items came up, I was offered an option for replacements and ticked the alternatives. It was slick and simple. I skipped this option the first time because of time constraints. Now, as I fill in each product with alternatives, the system automatically selects them for me.
Checkers deservedly won its category in the MTN Business App of the Year awards last month. It’s one of the many signs of how South Africans have adapted to e-commerce during lockdown, and it’s a good thing for both consumers and business in general.
The context is important. I have been buying groceries for my 92-year-old mother for the past few years — Hi, Ma! — and delivering them to her retirement estate.
When the hard lockdown happened in March, the estate quite rightly took a strict line in enforcing the rules. This meant I didn’t see my mother for several months, and then, as restrictions eased, I would drop off groceries and we could talk at the pedestrian gate.
But when restrictions were eased under level 1, the estate opened the gates and I can now send deliveries directly to her (the security guards still receive and sterilise packets).
In defence of Woolworths and Pick n Pay, I haven’t tried deliveries for months because they were clearly slammed during lockdown.
With Woolies, click-and-collect went from one week in advance to book a delivery date to two weeks. At Pick n Pay, also using click-and-collect, it was only a few days in advance. I will check back to see if that has changed. In the meantime, Checkers has quietly won the delivery app wars — at least in my household.
Ease of use and an hour for delivery have made the Sixty60 app a winner during lockdown.