Shoprite shares first Pixie usage figures after Pick n Pay launches Penny

Shoprite has released the first figures showing how customers are using Pixie, its AI shopping assistant for Checkers Sixty60, a few days after Pick n Pay introduced its own assistant, Penny. According to the retailer, 98% of Xtra Savings Plus subscribers have used Pixie since it launched in April. Shoprite also said customers have added more than four million products to their shopping baskets using the assistant’s swipe feature. Pixie is available exclusively to Xtra Savings Plus members. The feature uses a customer’s shopping history from the Xtra Savings rewards programme to suggest products they are likely to need and prepare a basket before they start shopping.

Shoprite said the feature is helping customers complete orders more quickly and increasing basket values, although it did not share data showing how much spending has changed. The company also shared a few examples from its early rollout. One customer has used Pixie to add more than 730 products worth over R36,000 to shopping baskets since April. Another completed a grocery order worth more than R1,500 in about 15 seconds before it was delivered 31 minutes later. Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation at ShopriteX, said Pixie was designed to remove some of the steps involved in online grocery shopping. “The more customers use it, the better it understands their shopping habits, making each shop simpler and more intuitive than the last,” Schreuder said. The figures were released by Shoprite and have not been independently verified.

Different approaches to AI

Shoprite’s update comes shortly after Pick n Pay launched Penny in its asap! app. Although both tools use artificial intelligence, they work differently. Penny allows shoppers to build a basket by typing, speaking or uploading a photo of a shopping list. Pixie relies on previous purchases, suggesting products customers are likely to buy again before they begin searching. The two retailers are solving the same problem from different directions. One starts with a conversation, while the other starts with shopping history. For Shoprite, the latest figures offer an early look at how customers are responding to Pixie. It will take longer to see whether these tools become a regular part of online grocery shopping or remain features that only a small group of customers use regularly.