Woolworths intensifies online delivery service to coastal consumers

South African clothing and grocery store Woolworths said it will be venturing into an on-demand delivery service dubbed the Woolies Dash to the coastal areas.

In announcing the move, Woolworths director of online and mobile Liz Hillock said they are now targeting areas that are situated along the coast such as Langebaan and Mossel Bay.

In a statement, Hillock said Woolworths will be growing its on-demand delivery service just before the upcoming holiday season.

Woolworths said the Woolies Dash service – which is available to customers within a 5km radius of a Woolworths store – will now be available in coastal towns Langebaan, Simon’s Town, Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Jeffreys Bay, Margate, and Richards Bay.

“As demand for online shopping continues to grow, we have continued to focus our investments on optimising the online shopping experience and order fulfillment across all our delivery networks,” said Hillock.

Moreover, the Cape Town headquartered company, Woolworths said clients who are located a little further away from the retailer’s stores will be able to use their scheduled delivery service in coastal towns including Pringle Bay, Betty’s Bay, Kleinmond, Hermanus, Stanford, Wilderness, Sedgefield, St Francis Bay, Port Edward, Southbroom, Ramsgate, Port Shepstone.

“The introduction of Dash into our main App has been successful, with cart sizes increasing as customers also make use of product ratings and reviews, and other new and exciting features in the App,” Hillock added.

According to the retailer, since streamlining its delivery services to the Woolworths App, the platform has generated over 70% of its overall food sales and it continues to register big numbers.

“Convenience and ease remain top of mind for many shoppers during the festive period. We know that customers are also concerned about ordering and receiving their last-minute essentials on time, and we are delighted to be able to bring the convenience and ease of shopping to our digital platforms,” she continued.

“We will continue to build on our new omni-channel offering and have some exciting plans in the pipeline for the New Year.”

As of the start of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, on-demand grocery delivery services became a popular way for consumers to buy their groceries and the company recently decided to consolidate its e-commerce options – Woolies Dash, Click and Collect and Scheduled ‘next day’ delivery – onto a single application.