When your business is based on delivering drinks, government’s ban on liquor sales during lockdown should mean the end of your prospects.
Bottles, South Africa’s first on-demand liquor delivery app, was born after its founders ran out of drinks at a braai and wondered why there wasn’t an app that they could use to order more.
“In the beginning, it was really about shaking up a legacy industry where technology was virtually absent,” says co-founder Vincent Viviers.
Its partnership with Pick n Pay Liquor was forged in mid-2018 to help it scale its delivery service through the retailer’s 50-plus stores nationwide. During the lockdown, it attracted 160 000 new customers by delivering their groceries.
Says Viviers: “When we first went into lockdown, we knew we had a role to play in keeping our clients safe at home, delivering their essentials.” He says the response to the grocery delivery service has been "overwhelmingly positive", and it will now continue beyond lockdown. Each delivery costs R35.
Alcohol and grocery deliveries are now available in selected cities in five provinces – Gauteng, Western Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. To cope with the order volumes – which tripled over a few days during the level five lockdown – the app’s in-store ‘shoppers’ (Pick n Pay staff who put the orders together) had to be trained on the job using a mix of WhatsApp, Zoom and Hangouts.
Features on the app include stock substitution that allows users to choose different brands if their first choice isn’t available, order tracking and an in-app chat for customer service.
Strength of digital innovation
Lockdown and the challenges it presented came just a few months after Bottles won the People’s Choice Award at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards last October. This is the only category voted for by the public.
Kholo Magagane, MTN Business head of marketing, says Bottles’ success story demonstrates the strengths of digital companies.
“When changes have to be made quickly, there’s little need to consider investments in brick and mortar. Operating digitally means that operations can be concentrated in areas that will bring results.”
This year marks the ninth edition of the awards that aim to acknowledge the solutions and skills of local developers. The overall winner will receive a trip to a tech-related destination valued at R200 000.
Entries for the 2020 App of the Year Awards close on 29 September.
This year’s awards also have two new categories: `Best Youth App’ and ‘Best Breakthrough Developer’. These categories have been added to acknowledge the best solutions from the MTN Business App Academy, a six-week coding programme that aims to find solutions to the social challenges facing South Africa.
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