‘We’re back and we are going to make some noise’: Pick n Pay’s asap! revolution

Pick n Pay has launched a new feature on its asap! on-demand delivery app as the retailer expands in its social commerce offering.

The new feature, called Inspire, is a shoppable video content feed built directly into the asap! app.

This marks a first for a South African grocery retailer, and comes as competition in the grocery retail sector has shifted firmly into the domain of technological innovation.

Pick n Pay’s Inspire feature lets customers shop products directly from videos. Products appear on screen as they are featured in the video, allowing customers to add them to their baskets.

The feature was formally launched to the public on Tuesday, 25 August, and was preceded by an Unreal Deal live shopping event on the feature on Monday, 24 August.

Pick n Pay’s Unreal Deals live event has been running annually since 2024 across the Pick n Pay website and social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The latest event was hosted directly on the asap! app using the new Inspire feature. It was presented by well-known guests, including several local content creators.

Pick n Pay explained in a press release that the live format combines entertainment and product demonstrations.

It allows viewers to interact with hosts and shop featured product deals while watching on the asap! app itself.

“Social commerce is about shortening the distance between seeing something and buying it,” Pick n Pay’s Retail Executive of Omnichannel, Enrico Ferigolli, said.

“People increasingly discover what they want through content – whether it’s a recipe, a creator, a sporting moment or a product demonstration.”

“Pick n Pay Inspire brings that behaviour into grocery shopping. Instead of having to leave the content, search for a product and complete your purchase elsewhere, the content, products, basket, and fulfilment are all connected in one experience.”

The idea behind Inspire

In an interview with Daily Investor preceding the Unreal Deals event, Ferigolli said the new feature aligns with changing consumer behaviour.

Especially among younger generations, many shoppers now find meal inspiration, recipes, and product recommendations via social media.

Normally, shoppers will find a product they want to purchase on social media, then have to switch to their grocery app to order it.

Ferigolli believes Pick n Pay’s new Inspire feature closes that gap, allowing for a more seamless experience.

The feature is a year in the making and builds on the idea of old-school infomercials that allowed watchers to consume content and shop for the products they see.

It also builds on Pick n Pay’s live Unreal Deals show, which Ferigolli said has been highly successful.

“Over the last year, we worked on bringing the technology to be able to broadcast an event within our asap! app,” he explained.

“As we were working through the technology that powers this live event, we realised, hold on, but you are basically hosting the content.”

Now, in a specific use case, the content is live, but you can actually, with very little development, make this repository of content that customers can access anytime.”

Ferigolli said his team realised that they could do a lot more with the technology they already had, and, drawing from his own love of cooking, came up with the Inspire feature.

While the first event was live, Ferigolli has big plans to expand the Inspire features capabilities in the future, including loading recipes and bringing in a content creator network.

“Initially, the idea was very focused on live, but we’re gonna evolve it very quickly into becoming like a video recipe book on the app, so it’s very exciting,” he said.

Pick n Pay and social commerce

The launch of Pick n Pay’s Inspire feature comes as the retailer is investing in its social commerce features.

Inspire’s launch comes hot on the heels of Penny, Pick n Pay asap!’s artificial intelligence-powered shopping assistant, which launched in July 2026.

Ferigolli said social commerce features like these are becoming increasingly relevant as consumer needs evolve alongside technological advances.

Particularly as South Africa’s grocery retail market becomes increasingly technology-driven, with each major retailer having its own on-demand delivery app, social commerce is becoming an ancillary battleground.

Ferigolli believes unique, market-first features like Inspire will set asap! apart from the competition, and make grocery shopping more fun and engaging.

“Overall, I think it’s the quality of your product, the quality of your service, and the quality of the experience that is always at the very core,” he said.

“But when you look at the two leading players in this market, we’ve got that under good control. Now, it’s about having a bit of fun with the technology and what it can offer.”

“The moment that you can rely on your grocery app to also give you some ideas for what’s for dinner tonight, I think it makes you act really sticky, and it’s a really exciting experience.” 

“Ultimately, I think that, with technology, we have the opportunity of making grocery shopping fun.”

Pick n Pay and its competitors are investing heavily in their on-demand offerings as competition heats up, and Ferigolli said his team has more updates and features in the works.

“If you just look at Penny, 3 months ago, it didn’t exist. We saw it, we liked it, and we were able to implement it as part of our infrastructure in a way that, in the past, we couldn’t,” he said. 

“And now we have such a powerful, clean technology that works really well that we can plug pieces on top with the reassurance that when we do it, it’s gonna be a good outcome.”

“So, there’s gonna be a lot more coming your way over the next few months.”

“I think that if I have to recap it in a sentence: We’re back and we are going to make some noise.”