Maltese consumers are no strangers to online shopping and the latest local virtual retail outlet, ooii.com.mt, means receiving goods on their doorstep at the press of a button is fast turning into the order of the day.
Twenty-four hours is, indeed, one of the key attractions to the online superstore, which promises to deliver items within that timeframe – the fastest delivery since it subtly went live in September was 90 minutes, says its marketing manager Krista Decesare.
But why would consumers choose to shop at ooii.com.mt when the internet offers them the world at their fingertips – often for less? Ms Decesare admits its products are not necessarily cheaper. “It’s about convenience and service: from the comfort of your home, you can buy an item and have it delivered for free within 24 hours,” she explains, maintaining that shopping “is a big deal” in Malta even though distances may not be a deterrent.
“Shopping for something is actually quite difficult because retailers have such small stock quantities,” she points out, adding that cash on delivery is another advantage, while credit cards can be swiped at home and discounts come in the form of loyalty points.
“Would you buy a frying pan online from overseas? Things can start to get heavy. In our case, the wholesaler has already selected the products and sorted the transport.
“Would you go to 10 shops to buy a frying pan? We have 97 types online. The reality is that if you entered a shop looking for one, you would have no idea of the price range and you would never see so many at once.”
Returning an item is easy too – no questions are asked, a full refund is received and the unwanted product is even collected, Ms Decesare points out.
Ooii.com.mt, which belongs to Etail Ltd, has been in the making for about four years, when online shopping was still practically in its inception. The idea came from the fact that “we already had all the elements in the group’s other activities (which include a postal company) to make it work: our own team of skilled developers; our own delivery system; and 24/7 customer service. Combining them together made sense,” Ms Decesare said.
“I don’t think anyone would go into something like this if they had to start from scratch because it would be so expensive. The operation requires a 24/7 phone service and same-day delivery – with no limits on the cost of the item.”
Around 30 employees run the show, between delivery, marketing, development and the support centre, Ms Decesare says.
The software started to be developed about two years ago and was finalised early this year. Since then, the service was rolled out softly so any teething problems could be ironed out.
Much time was spent on contractual arrangements with suppliers and testing the system, she explains.
“Initially, it was quite difficult – many wholesalers could not understand what we were doing. And probably, the biggest issue was managing supplier relationships, which we depend on.
“Loading up suppliers requires time and effort; the more organised they are, the faster we can get them on board,” Ms Decesare says.
The concept behind the project is that “we are simply an online supermarket, the front end for wholesalers, providing the straightforward link between them and the consumer.
“The difference is that we sell everything, and anything is a candidate to be on our product list” – barring sex toys and condoms. The banks forbid their sale, having to give their approval on each category for electronic transactions.
Ooii.com.mt has so far reached 7,000 products for 7,000 registered users. The target is 50,000, and according the business plan, the aim is to have as many users.
Food is also a forte in terms of cover and consumers can just leave the fresh produce on their shopping lists from the grocer; the rest, they can buy online.
“One day, we’ll even be buying our fish from the internet,” says Ms Decesare.
Still on the subject of the future, in three years’ time, video will be an integral part of the internet, and once the site gets through the first phase of product building, it will evolve in that area too.
Design and fonts may be similar to other popular sites, but there is no point in complicating matters? In online shopping, the “gold standard” is Amazon and ooii.com.mt is trying to reach that level.
“Being a smaller company than Amazon puts us at a small advantage,” Ms Decesare believes. “Our aim is also to be as fast as Amazon, and every day, we work on improving the speed.”
But speed is not the goal when it comes to growth. “Ooii is considered a long-term business and we are in no hurry. We want to build up gradually, focusing on service. This is no get-rich-quick scheme and we hope to be running for another 10 to 20 years.”