Battle of delivery apps: Pick n Pay launches AI assistant, Woolworths gets another ‘dark store’
· Citizen
Retailers are racing to make grocery shopping smarter and more convenient as competition in South Africa’s on-demand delivery market heats up.
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After Checkers Sixty60 introduced its AI-powered shopping assistant, Pixie, rivals have responded with innovations of their own, with Pick n Pay launching an AI assistant and Woolworths opening the ‘dark store’ as its latest online fulfilment centre.
Pick n Pay introduced Penny to the media on Thursday, giving us first access to how the extra hand works. From Monday, the public will be able to use the retailer’s AI assistant on its delivery app, asap!
Pick n Pay’s Penny
Enrico Ferigolli, Retail Executive: Omnichannel at Pick n Pay, said customers will be able to ask Penny for help via text, pictures and voice notes. Penny is powered by Google’s Gemini AI models, so it can assist people using any language.
“On-demand delivery changed how people shop. AI is now changing how they order,” he said. “We’re moving from search-and-scroll shopping to conversation-led shopping that makes buying groceries faster, smarter and far more intuitive. For years, the focus has been on faster delivery.”
Suggestions made by Pick n Pay’s AI assistant
Ferigolli said Penny is not just an assistant that can help you find items at the store; it is also an extra thinking head.
“The next disruption is removing the effort from shopping itself. Consumers no longer just want speed; they want shopping apps to think for them,” he said.
Customers will be able to upload a picture of any dish they found online, and Penny will tell them the ingredients and how to make it, including the cost.
People can also tell Penny their budget, and the AI assistant will generate a grocery list based on that amount. The AI assistant will also tell you what specials Pick n Pay has.
Through the app, customers can:
- Upload photos of handwritten shopping lists or a list of ingredients from a recipe
- Snap products they want to order
- Photograph ingredients already in their fridge and ask for meal ideas
- Suggest ingredient substitutions
- Help plan meals, budget, or provide entertaining meal and drinks ideas
Is Penny, Pixie?
But Pick n Pay is not the first to launch an AI assistant. Shoprite Group launched Pixie in April, but Penny does a bit more than Pixie.
Shoprite Group said Pixie is designed to help customers choose items without hassle. “This marks the latest step in Sixty60’s evolution – using AI to make the app faster to use, more personalised and ultimately simpler to complete your shopping.”
Think of how some ATMs work: if you have withdrawn R50 several times, one day you get to an ATM and it says: “Would you like to withdraw your favourite amount of R50?” Pixie is set to do something similar.
The Citizen attempted to find Pixie on Checkers Sixty60, but it appeared to be offline, as none of the publication’s journalists could locate it. However, we have asked Shoprite Group whether Pixie is still the retailer’s extra hand and how to locate it.
Checkers always ahead
Shoprite Group has always taken bold steps in innovation. Sixty60 is South Africa’s most popular on-demand delivery platform, and the retailer has piloted self-service checkout tills multiple times, with the latest launch in August 2025.
The self-service checkout system, Xpress Trolley, was launched late last year at two stores in the Western Cape: Checkers Hyper Brackenfell and Checkers Constantia. The group had said it would roll out the service after reviewing customers’ responses.
The Citizen has also asked Shoprite how the response to Xpress Trolley has been. Comments will be added once received.
Woolworths opens ‘dark store’
Premium grocery retailer Woolworths opened a second “dark store” in Wynberg, Cape Town, in late June, marking another step in the expansion and enhancement of its on-demand delivery service, Woolies Dash. These stores are dedicated to fulfilling online orders.
The retailer also has self-service Express at the Woolworths Foreshore store in Cape Town.
Bradley Nitsckie, chief supply chain officer at Woolworths, said the Wynberg facility is designed to significantly improve the speed, reliability and product availability of Woolies Dash for customers, strengthening Woolworths’ ability to meet increasing demand for convenient shopping with rapid delivery.
The launch of the Wynberg dark store follows the opening of Cape Town CBD dark store. “Our online channels continue to experience strong growth, with Woolies Dash playing a central role in driving this momentum,” said Nitsckie.
More delivery slots
Nitsckie said the Wynberg dark store is expected to enhance the Woolies Dash customer experience through a broader online range, improved access to delivery slots and greater consistency during peak trading periods, with a continued focus on reliability and order accuracy.
“As more customers choose online grocery shopping, we are focused on strengthening our fulfilment network to deliver the speed, availability and convenience they expect.”
The Wynberg dark store is expected to create dedicated operational roles, supporting local employment and contributing to the development of new skills within the online fulfilment sector.
“As customer shopping habits continue to evolve, we remain focused on investing in the infrastructure and capabilities needed to deliver a seamless experience.”