In a bid to up its online shopping delivery options, retailer Woolworths has announced a new partnership with leading logistics company Pargo, which will allow the retailer to leverage off more than 3,000 Pargo collection points in the long term.

For now, the pilot project is kicking off in the Western Cape with more than 250 pickup points across the province. There are plans to phase in in-store collection points and make the service available on the Woolies app in the new year. 

Customers will be able to shop the full range of Woolworths fashion, beauty and homeware products, with the option to pick up their online orders at nearby Pargo click-and-collect pickup points, such as FreshStop stores, Caltex service stations, Lewis stores and some pharmacies.

The service is competitive at R20 per delivery, with free Pargo deliveries if your order is over R475 or you own a black Woolies credit card.

By comparison, competitor The Foschini Group (TFG) offers delivery to your door at a cost of R50 if your order is under R500 and free delivery for orders of more than R500. You also have the option to “click and collect”, free at any TFG store.

If you choose the current Woolies delivery option (not Pargo), you will pay R25 for orders under R475 and get free delivery for orders of more than R475. You can also choose to pay an additional R35 if you want to receive your order within one to three days rather than the typical three- to five-day delivery period. Express delivery (within one day, excluding weekends and public holidays) will cost you R75. 

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Although Woolies is currently trialling a free “click and collect” option for food purchases at some stores, this service does not seem to be available for online purchases of clothing, beauty and homeware.

“We realise that some of our customers are not always available to receive parcels delivered to them. Parcel pick-up will not only bolster our omnichannel value proposition, but will further provide our customers with convenient solutions that suit their individual lifestyles. This partnership will now allow us to offer another reliable delivery option to our growing click-and-collect customer base,” says Liz Hillock, director of online and mobile at Woolworths.

During the pilot, the service will be available only on the Woolworths website. Business Maverick attempted to test the system, but kept getting stuck when it came to delivery options.

If you are successful in placing an order, you will receive an email notification with a five-digit code on the day it arrives. You can then use the code to retrieve your parcel within eight days of receiving the notification.

Woolworths seems to be throwing money at its delivery options and earlier this month announced that the Dash delivery service would be expanded to certain coastal towns including Langebaan, Mossel Bay, Richards Bay and Plettenberg Bay.

According to Woolworths, it is the only retailer to offer three food delivery services — scheduled “next day” delivery for larger orders and with a broader regional footprint; Click and Collect for holidaymakers who want to pick up, free, en route to their destinations; or Woolies Dash for shoppers within a 5km radius of a Woolies store who seek an on-demand same-day delivery. DM/BM