JOHANNESBURG, March 18 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Pick n Pay will broaden a rewards programme partnership with First National Bank (FNB) as part of an effort to tap the bank’s customer base and win back shoppers, the grocery retailer said.

Pick n Pay has ceded market share to larger rivals including Shoprite SHPJ.J over the past decade but is aiming to end years of poor performance following the appointment of chief executive Sean Summers in late 2023.

In the face of declining sales, the company rolled out several initiatives from mid-2022, including store revamps, the closure of unprofitable locations and new customer loyalty strategies.

“All of the things that we are doing … it’s what’s getting customers back into our stores, and we can already see it’s starting to turn,” Summers said at an event announcing the expanded partnership late on Monday.

Pick n Pay initially launched a version of the loyalty programme with FNB – the retail arm of FirstRand, South Africa’s second largest bank by assets – in November. But at the time it was only available to high-income clients.

Under the expanded programme, all FNB customers who shop at the grocer either in-store or online will be eligible to get back up to 30% of what they spend in the form of FNB’s eBucks loyalty points from April 1. Those points can be converted to cash.

FNB executives said the bank had already seen a rise in spending at Pick n Pay by those clients eligible for the programme since November.

FNB customers who had previously purchased less than a fifth of their groceries at Pick n Pay accounted for some 90% of that increase, said Pieter Woodhatch, CEO of FNB’s eBucks division, with many now making it their primary grocer.

The programme has also driven a 98% increase in online shopping among FNB’s eligible customers since November while spending on clothing has also risen, FNB executives added.

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Joe Bavier)