E-commerce appetite surges at DionWired

The seamless transitions between online shopping and visiting the physical store, with technical advice in both locations, as well as free nationwide delivery, has resulted in a 200% growth in traffic and sales at dionwired.co.za, the website of the electronics and appliance store chain.

DionWired’s embrace of the multichannel retail concept was aimed at giving consumers a “symmetrical shopping experience””, with the web and the brick-and-mortar stores providing similar experiences.

“”Over the past year, DionWired has experienced significant growth – in excess of 200% this year already – in our online traffic and e-commerce sales,”” says DionWired director Andrew Jackson.

“”Motivated by the increased internet trading, and a notably growing ‘research online, purchase offline’ (ROPO) shopping trend, the new website is designed to create convenient shopping channels both online and with a parallel in-store experience.””

Jackson points out that many new online enhancements were geared towards both the surge in Internet users in South Africa and the demand expected over Christmas.

‚’While browsing for Christmas gifts, check out one of the most popular features – the independent product reviews. This means connected shoppers can get opinions and feedback from other consumers before investing in a particular product. If still undecided after examining the gift categories, advice can be sought via a live chat with our real-time customer service department.””

The new-look website features:

Some goods are exclusively available online, such as Segway scooters, Weber braais and LED Lenser torches.

Jackson believes that the burgeoning South African e-commerce market is on the verge of exponential growth. The average basket size of purchases on the website, R4500, also underlines the strong appetite electronics shoppers have for big ticket items.

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