Bringing the market to the masses with online rollout

5 Mar 2015

In the three months since the launch of @home and hi-online stores, 67% of sales were from account holders purchasing with their Foschini Group (TFG) account cards. TFG has democratised online shopping by allowing their three million account holders to purchase online using their store cards and the move is paying off handsomely.

Bringing the market to the masses with online rollout

Both @home and hi-online stores, launched on 24 November 2014 as part of its new omni-channel retail offering, have contributed to the group's revenue growth over the festive season, with homeware sales increasing by 13.3% and the sale of mobile phones by 18.6%. With both online stores outselling, like for like, when compared with bricks and mortar stores.

"Online shopping is not just for those people who fall into the highest LSM category. We are attracting many of our customers who are shopping online for the first time with their cards, and feedback from our customers has been very positive around the convenience of online shopping. Customers feel safe because they trust the group and have access to products they didn't before, which is a big plus point," says Robyn Cooke, Head of E-Commerce at TFG. "We've even had a few tongue-in-cheek remarks from customers that they will be spending more as there is so much variety."

Customers can cross-shop between @home and hi-online in one checkout bag, making it a unique offering in South Africa. It will continue to roll out its online mall in 2015 with additional stores coming online in the second half of the year.

"TFG is essentially building an online mall; we will be offering consumers a diverse choice of product across electronics and accessories, sportswear, menswear, sneakers, women's fashion and homeware. All from one platform - all in one bag," concluded Cooke.

For more information, go to www.tfg.co.za