Clicks has been named the Coolest Specialist Health & Beauty Store and Clicks ClubCard the Coolest Loyalty Programme in the 2024 Sunday Times GenNext Awards. This double win is a first for Clicks, which has won the specialist health and beauty store accolade for five years in a row. The fact that the retailer also won the top loyalty programme award is extra special, highlighting its relevance and appeal to South Africa’s youth.

For two decades, the Sunday Times GenNext Awards has been widely regarded as the top indicator of trends among South Africa’s youth. Based on survey results from 7,200 young people aged eight to 24, the awards provide valuable information on the customers of tomorrow.

Commenting on the awards, Dr Mel van Rooy, Chief Marketing Officer at Clicks, says, “These two awards prove how committed we are to providing real value to our customers. Winning the Coolest Specialist Health & Beauty Store, as well as the Coolest Loyalty Programme, shows that by staying relevant, our efforts resonate with young South Africans who look for authenticity, quality and convenience when they shop.”

Clicks has engaged a number of strategies to successfully target this demographic. “When young people look for advice, they don’t go to Google, they don’t go to YouTube, they go to TikTok,” says Van Rooy. “We’ve expanded our social media footprint and adjusted our marketing strategy in terms of where we speak to them, how we speak to them and what we speak to them about.”

She says young customers are especially important because of their purchasing power and influence over household spending. They also represent the brand’s future loyalty base.

“What Clicks offers the younger generation is value for money to still be able to buy aspirational brands,” she states. “And although Gen Z customers love to buy big name brands, they’re also quite comfortable to buy our private-label ranges because they offer great quality at affordable prices, and are still seen as cool.”

Van Rooy believes the double win reflects Clicks’ strategy to reach Gen Z through an omnichannel approach based on data insights from the ClubCard loyalty programme.

“Our younger customers love the omnichannel experience,” she says. “They’ll browse online for certain products and then go into their favourite store and buy them a few days later. And they love the special deals and the cashback!”

This data-driven approach has paid off, as the youth market has grown proportionally faster than other age groups, with a 16% increase in ClubCard transactions over the past year among customers between the ages of 18 and 25. Overall, Clicks has 12 million active ClubCard members.

The number of accolades won by Clicks recently include:

• Coolest Specialist Health & Beauty Store in the 2024 Sunday Times GenNext Awards
• Coolest Loyalty Programme in the 2024 Sunday Times GenNext Awards
• Pharmacies Industry winner in the 2024/25 Ask Afrika Orange Index for customer satisfaction
• Most Meaningfully Different Brand Award for providing customers with a consistent store experience regardless of location in the 2024 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands Report
• Best Use of AI to Improve Loyalty Experience and the Best Strategic Use of Data Analytics/CRM Applications at the SA Loyalty Awards.

Van Rooy says Clicks is deeply grateful to its customers for their ongoing support and loyalty. “These two awards are a testament to the amount of trust customers place in us and our commitment to continue to provide them with even more value, convenience, differentiation and personalisation,” she concludes.