[Links to download all apps mentioned in this article can be found at the end]

Emma had been using CartRun and mentioned it worked well. But I forgot about that and kept risking my life at the shops.

I did notice the little CartRun Oompa-Loompas in Constantia Village, but never chose to use them. Then I was driving behind a Quench branded tuk-tuk, and downloaded the Quench app (one outdoor ad conversion, tracked). I used it once to get lemons for my tequila-soda cocktails that have become famous throughout Constantia. I use Cabrito Tequila to make ‘ The Rotherham’.

You’ll be drinking it soon – when the new Cafe du Cap opens in Newlands Village. And when you’re legally allowed to drink it.

Then the Constantia tennis set all got COVID-19, and people started shitting off a tad more than usual. I mentioned Quench to The Muse and she started rattling off a list of things she needed.

“Can you get all of that?”, she asked. “Sure”, I assumed.

The app is pretty slick and user friendly. I felt comfortable in the driver’s seat and noticed they only offered Woolies and Dis-Chem and booze (obviously for other lockdown levels). I become a bit twitchy about the general goods I wanted to get – and would prefer to get from Pick n Pay or Checkers. Bigger range, probably better priced, etc.

Free-range chicken sausage was the first thing I looked for and they didn’t have it. I cried a little into my hands and then contacted their help desk. An actual call. Anyway, the lady was very nice and they added it within 15 minutes. Not bad, but come on.. chicken sausage…? That’s the first thing people buy when a new Woolies comes to town. Then it’s the whole cooked free-range chicken. Then it’s the sushi. And all those small ready-to-eat meals.

The lady said in future I could contact their help desk for products that I couldn’t find. It does seem to happen from time to time, and I’m usually in a rush, so often jump across to CartRun, hoping they’ll have what I’m looking for. It’s far easier than phoning the help desk and waiting for them to add a product. The downside for them is I will do a whole shop on CartRun the next time that one product is part of my shopping list; irrespective of whether it’s been added to their app since then or not. Because I won’t be checking. And vice versa, because you can be sure CartRun don’t have everything listed.

I think CartRun were one of the early personal shopper apps. Using it in Constantia, they offer shopping at Woolworths, Pick n Pay and Pick n Pay Liquor. The app works OK, but the big benefit is you get direct contact with your shopper over WhatsApp – pretty cool when looking for replacement products – something that is a bit of an issue with these apps. Especially when doing a big shop.

Not that I’m always doing massive shops – these apps are great for ‘quickies’. As I mentioned before – the lemons for the tequila soda etc. Which brings us to the fees.

Quench charges a flat R60 – which includes R25 for the shopper and R35 for the driver. You can choose to add a tip for the driver if you want. It’s pretty well priced.

CartRun charges a 10% fee on the goods you’re buying, then a further R40 delivery fee. So generally they work out more expensive. On a recent R280 shop, I walked away spending R348. That’s R68 over the cost of the shop. Which is fair enough, as I didn’t move a muscle – but it’s still more than Quench. And that’s on a R280 shop. On a R500 shop, the extra fees would be around R90, and a R1 000 shop would be R140. Getting a bit steep. Quench would be R80 less in that case.

I’ve been writing this article over the course of a couple of weeks, and must say CartRun crashes quite a bit and the tech might need an overhaul. A common issue for first-movers. But at the same time, I do like how their shoppers engage directly with the customer over WhatsApp (I’d prefer Telegram) – recommending other products with live photos from the aisles.

Quench doesn’t do this – rather they ask you to choose a replacement from their limited selection.

I started using the Checkers 60-minute app last week, and have had some ups and downs. I’m impressed with their flat R35 delivery fee, making them the cheapest option, but the tech also needs improvement. It’s a bit too clever for its own boots. Again, some direct human engagement would go a long way. They use basic AI to select alternatives for you to choose from if your product is not in store. But if the system doesn’t ‘think’ properly, you’ll be left with nothing.

Like when the system told me there was no OMO washing powder and decided that was the end of it. I couldn’t even search to add something else. Whereas in real life (or over WhatsApp / Telegram), I would tell somebody to get any washing powder brand. I mean, who really cares?

“Sorry, but I REFUSE to use anything but Skip!” Pfffft…

So for now we chop and change apps, depending on what we want. Checkers Sixty60 is great for household cleaning products and the like, as they have a bigger selection and their delivery fee is low. But if you’ve got important stuff on your list, it’s too much risk to not receive it, as their replacement system will leave you high and dry.

CartRun is a good bet for ensuring you get what you want, as they have the direct contact with your shopper. They are also the only app that includes Pick n Pay.

I’d like to see Quench allowing multiple cards, as well as direct contact with my shopper. Then any replacement products chosen can be added to their system – a nice quick way to build up the inventory. It would also be great if they could take you to the top of a list, when you search for a new product from another search result page. Just a little annoying bug.

Both CartRun and Quench desperately need extra products. Neither have, for example, replacement pads for Peaceful Sleep (or any brand) mosquito plugs. That kind of thing is non-existent. So you end up going to the Checkers app for a potentially big shop. Maybe Quench could let users paste a URL of a Woolies product (from the Woolies site) they want added, then a dedicated geek could add that to the Quench app in under five minutes. That would cut down the big loss in sales from users jumping to another app for a big shop, just because one product is missing.

Not that I want to be buying general household cleaning goods from Woolies. It really would be great if Quench could add Pick n Pay and/or Checkers, and even better if you could do it in one shop. CartRun can’t do that. You have to plan a shop at Woolies and then when that ends you can plan a shop at Pick n Pay.

To be honest, Checkers has the best app and biggest selection – if they just added live shopper engagement for replacement products, they would be the winner.

But there’s something about Quench that I like – I just hope they get up to speed in time.

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DOWNLOAD THE APPS

QUENCH for iOS and for Android

CARTRUN for iOS and for Android

CHECKERS SIXTY60 for iOS and Android