Pick n Pay has been making headlines following its announcement to only reward Smart Shoppers on every R2 spent instead of each rand, which effectively halves the cashback rate to 0.5%. The programme overhaul has been met with a negative response from “I'm off to Spar” to “more down ratings” to “junk status”, including that of Clive Evans, who says there was no real noise or transparency with regard to this major adjustment.

Having the opposite effect, McDonald's South Africa's recent National Breakfast Day promotion was less about actively marketing its R10 special and more about saying thank you to its loyal supporters. For the restaurant chain, the focus is rather on “everyday good value”. Retail editor Lauren Hartzenberg interviews CEO Greg Solomon to find out more.

While retailers are caught between offering discounts in tough economic conditions and protecting margins, we echo Evans' sentiment in that regardless of the business' objective, “it's not just what you do, it's how you do it - and customer experience should never be overlooked”.


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