Makro branch adds drive-thru service to stem #BlackFriday chaos
Makro hopes to calm the Black Friday chaos for South Africans looking for a deal this year with ways to cut-out standing in long lines for hours. Photo: Jason Boud
JOHANNESBURG – Black Friday for South Africans in the past years has not always been a breeze, with online shopping websites crashing, dealing with long ques at stores and when you eventually manage to get into some stores, you find out the product you wanted to purchase is sold out.
Massmart’s popular retailer, Makro has taken all this into consideration and hopes to calm the Black Friday craze for scrambling South Africans looking for a deal this year.
“Year-on-year Makro constantly aims to improve our customers’ shopping experience because we know what Black Friday comes with and we have the solution for their Black Friday shopping. We have spent the year preparing to make it unforgettable for customers, by offering incredible savings on deals online and in-store for 5 days,” Makro said in a statement.
Apart from running their Black Friday specials over a 5 day period, the retailer has installed an online drive-thru system at their Riversands branch in Johannesburg as well as partnering with the ride-hailing company, Uber, offering R50 discounts on rides to and from their stores.
Take a look at the initiatives that Makro will be rolling out to help customers this Black Friday:
- Makro’s Black Friday specials will run over a 5 day period, from 21 to 25 November with over 26 000 lines on promotion.
- They have extended trading hours (Wednesday to Friday- 08:00 to 18:00, Saturday from 08:00 to 16:00 and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:00).
- A new a mobile pay-point systems to assist customers in purchasing a small number of items to pay while standing in the queue.
- The new online drive-thru service at the Makro Riversands store, which is a never-been-seen-before feature at a retail store in South Africa, enabling customers to collect their online items in an even more convenient manner.
- Increased the number of staff and security at all stores to ensure the safety of customers
- Uber, in partnership with Makro, will be offering a R50 discount (limited rides to and from Makro outlets on a first-come, first serve basis) with dedicated Uber pick-up and collection zones at each store.
- Makro will charge a R70 delivery fee for both online and in-store purchases regardless of the distance from the store, and offer free delivery to Makro pick-up lockers and click-and-collect from a store.
- All mCard members will receive 10% back into their mWallet on all non-promotional products (excluding food, liquor and selected categories) bought in-store. Download the mCard app from the Apple App store or the Google Play store and register before you shop to qualify.
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Source: iol.co.za
