By Masabata Mkwananzi 
Jul 7, 2021
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Just months after collaborating with Sandton City and creating a digital mall, Nedbank’s Avo Super app is reaching for greater heights.
The app, launched in June 2020, was created to help build a bridge to Nedbank customers and the broader South African consumer base to access online shopping, essential services and financial products on a single platform.
In its first month after launching, the app reached 10 000 subscribers during lockdown level 5, while groceries and essential items were delivered to more than 1 000 households on a regular basis.
By the end of 2020, the app had approximately 100 000 active users, and now, the Avo Super app has reached a quarter of a million users in just a year.
The term “super app” refers to a multitude of apps, services and functionalities aggregated into one. This allows customers and businesses the ability to manage their daily lives through one app, breaking through the digital clutter on mobile devices.
“As restrictions began to lift, we introduced key categories such as liquor, fast food delivery and appliances, offering great deals to cash-conscious consumers,” says Ciko Thomas, Managing Executive, Retail and Business Banking, Nedbank.
“As demand for e-commerce increased, delays became a serious issue. We managed to bolster our enhanced logistics network by working with national rental vehicle partners during the lockdown, ensuring same-day delivery while offering South Africans unprecedented convenience and reliable access to their favourite retail stores and pharmacy brands.”
The company added that, in the past year, over 3 million Avo Points were issued, each worth R1, which allowed users to spend their points with a growing list of partners on the app.
In addition, users of the Greenbacks Rewards Programme were able to exchange their Greenbacks for Avo Points to take advantage of combined savings.
“The rewards and cashback not only benefit users but small businesses as well,” says Thomas. “Every time a user buys from that merchant, they receive Avo Points, which incentivises them to support the same merchant again. This initiative has helped many businesses in a way that was otherwise unavailable in the market.”
According to Nedbank, over 20 000 merchants, mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), have gone digital with Avo Business. This was further amplified in a partnership with Sandton City Mall earlier this year, creating Africa’s first digital mall, where consumers can shop from a multitude of stores, pay for their goods and either have them delivered or collect them from the Avo Lounge lockers at Sandton City Mall.
Now that the country is back at lockdown level 4, it is only safe to say the Avo app will continue to see huge growth in subscribers as consumers and businesses will rely on contactless payments.
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