Despite a challenging 18 months fuelled by the pandemic for the retail sector, customer-focused innovation has remained a top priority for retail giant Massmart. The retail group partnered with credit solutions provider RCS to unlock value for its customers amid a tough economic climate.
Gavin Lomberg, Chief Commercial Officer at RCS – South Africa’s leading consumer finance provider and wholly-owned subsidiary of global bank BNP Paribas – explains that the credit provider has been working with Massmart on the launch of a value back offer for their various branded store cards. “The new value proposition for customers, launched in Builders and most recently in Game, will unlock a number of valuable benefits for their credit customers. The offer rewards Builders and Game store cardholders by giving them a percentage of their spend back for every purchase.”
He says that store cardholders will receive 3% of the value of their purchases back when they shop online at any of the Builders, Makro and Game ecommerce sites. “In addition, they also get 2% back when they shop in-store at Builders, Game or Makro, and 1% back when they shop at any RCS network retailer (600 brands across 26,000 stores in South Africa). An added existing benefit is that Builders and Game store cardholders can use their card to shop at any Makro, Game, Builders or RCS network retailer giving them greater access to a wide variety of products.”
The Massmart Group is one of the largest distributors of consumer goods in Africa. It is the leading retailer of general merchandise, liquor and home improvement equipment and supplies, and the leading wholesaler of basic foods. It is one of the largest retail groups in South Africa, with leading brands Game, Makro and Builders. This makes Massmart an end-to-end lifestyle retailer with a unique opportunity to unlock significant value for its customers – from big ticket items to everyday purchases.
The reward programme will roll out to Makro store cardholders in the near future, “Receiving 3% back on online purchases made with your store card at Builders, Makro or Game presents a significant saving for customers when and where they most need it.”
Lomberg explains: “At RCS our goal is to unlock possibilities to grow and enrich lives – both for our retail partners and customers. We want our customers to be better off because we are in the picture. By working with our retail partners to offer more value to customers we are tangibly fulfilling this aspiration.”
At Massmart, we pride ourselves in putting the customer first always. In being a customer centric retailer, we have observed that the current economic climate has put immense financial pressure on our customers and reduced their buying power. We have found a way to ease this burden on our customers by rewarding customers for shopping with us through our 3-2-1 rewards program.
We have removed the complexities that are often times associates with rewards programmes. All Game and Builders store cardholders qualify for up to 3% of the value of their purchases when shopping in any Massmart store and there are no additional fees or qualifying criteria in order for customers to benefit from our rewards programs”, said Varsha Dayaram, Senior Vice President for Massmart Financial Services.
RCS is the leading credit solutions partner to more than 30 of South Africa’s most prominent retailers by offering access to additional turnover. The company created a comprehensive range of services for the Massmart Group, including store cards with revolving and budget payment plans for everyday frequent purchases. Other credit solutions designed for the Massmart group include a retail loan offering for purchasing bigger basket items and cash loans.
“We have come to understand that Massmart customers are highly discerning in their spending behaviour, and understand how to manage the relationship between their use of cash and credit. All of RCS’s solutions for Massmart aim to meet their customers’ needs across this continuum. “We believe that our jointly introduced value proposition will add even more value, and help provide the continued support that customers need to grow. This is but one of a number of new initiatives we will partner with Massmart for the benefit of their customers,” Lomberg concludes.