As South Africa battles its third wave of COVID-19 infections, the country’s retail spaces have been forced to rethink their e-commerce models. At the helm of retail digitisation is Checkers’ brilliant app Sixty60, which aims to deliver groceries to customers within an hour. But there’s one thing South Africans need more than just groceries right now — and that’s medication. Which is likely why Dis-Chem Pharmacies just announced its own 60-minute delivery service, DeliverD.
Dis-Chem’s same-day on-demand delivery service offers customers delivery of health and beauty products within an hour. As any good South African knows, Dis-Chem is good for far more in the health and beauty realm, including health, nutrition, beauty and even electrical products.
Dis-Chem DeliverD meds
Initially, the app will run as a trial in major metros, including Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu Natal. If it works well, it’ll bleed into other areas and towns across the country where Dis-Chem has established pharmacies.
For any delivery, customers will be charged a flat fee of R60 on top of whatever the products cost. “Dis-Chem DeliverD complements our existing online offering, and this development taps directly into understanding what our customers want, central to which is convenience. We have seen significant online growth in the past 12 months and the ongoing customer demand for quick, same-day online service was a key driver behind the introduction of this offering,” says Saul Saltzman, executive director at Dis-Chem.
Home deliveries of medication and health products is more important than ever, with people infected with COVID-19 isolating at home. Many may not have family and friends capable of picking up vital medication from pharmacies and delivering them to infected people.
Other pharmacies should follow suit, especially considering the fact that Clicks pharmacies don’t deliver medication that isn’t a repeat or ‘chronic’. Recently, a Stuff journalist, infected with COVID-19 couldn’t have prescription meds delivered from a Clicks pharmacy only 1km from their home.
The DeliverD app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, Huawei AppGallery and Apple App Store. You can also access the facility through the existing Dis-Chem app. Check this link for a list of pharmacies that’ll provide the service in the trial.