Smart Supermarket to extend on-line service to Gozo
Balzan-based Smart supermarket is planning to extend its on-line shopping service to Gozo in the near future, company director Joe Grech said.He said initial investment on the on-line shopping service had been heavy and pick-up had not been fast, but...
Balzan-based Smart supermarket is planning to extend its on-line shopping service to Gozo in the near future, company director Joe Grech said.
He said initial investment on the on-line shopping service had been heavy and pick-up had not been fast, but the momentum was now growing and extending deliveries to Gozo was the next step.
On-line shopping accounts for three per cent of sales at Smart - not a small figure considering that the company has an annual turnover of Lm10 million.
"Most people who use the service tell us they do so because it saves them time. They can do in 30 minutes what would otherwise take them two hours, not to mention traffic and fuel," Mr Grech said.
Smart employs five full timers on the service and makes free deliveries when the shopping lists exceed Lm40. Central Malta is served on a daily basis, with early orders delivered on a same day basis.
The north and south of Malta are served every other day. The service includes deliveries to offices, businesses and restaurants.
"Many offices shop on-line as they find it convenient to have goods delivered, rather than having to send a messenger or a maid to do the shopping," Mr Grech said.
He said on-line prices were still discounted but prices were a little higher than in the supermarket itself.
"Effectively, the on-line section and the customer split the discount between them. At the end of the day, this is a service and we have to fund it. But we do pride ourselves over our efficiency. Our staff even phone clients to ask they if they want a different product if the one they request is out of stock," Mr Grech said The logistics that go into the service are huge. All 43,000 items in the supermarket are photographed, and a brief description of each is given in one of the 29 sections that are on line, he said.
Once they place their order, clients may opt to pay on line or pay the deliveryman. Alternatively clients may opt to pick up the goods themselves at a given time.
"Clearly this is an area of business which will grow. People have less time for shopping and services such an this mean they can shop whenever they want and still save time," Mr Grech said.
He said initial investment on the on-line shopping service had been heavy and pick-up had not been fast, but the momentum was now growing and extending deliveries to Gozo was the next step.
On-line shopping accounts for three per cent of sales at Smart - not a small figure considering that the company has an annual turnover of Lm10 million.
"Most people who use the service tell us they do so because it saves them time. They can do in 30 minutes what would otherwise take them two hours, not to mention traffic and fuel," Mr Grech said.
Smart employs five full timers on the service and makes free deliveries when the shopping lists exceed Lm40. Central Malta is served on a daily basis, with early orders delivered on a same day basis.
The north and south of Malta are served every other day. The service includes deliveries to offices, businesses and restaurants.
"Many offices shop on-line as they find it convenient to have goods delivered, rather than having to send a messenger or a maid to do the shopping," Mr Grech said.
He said on-line prices were still discounted but prices were a little higher than in the supermarket itself.
"Effectively, the on-line section and the customer split the discount between them. At the end of the day, this is a service and we have to fund it. But we do pride ourselves over our efficiency. Our staff even phone clients to ask they if they want a different product if the one they request is out of stock," Mr Grech said The logistics that go into the service are huge. All 43,000 items in the supermarket are photographed, and a brief description of each is given in one of the 29 sections that are on line, he said.
Once they place their order, clients may opt to pay on line or pay the deliveryman. Alternatively clients may opt to pick up the goods themselves at a given time.
"Clearly this is an area of business which will grow. People have less time for shopping and services such an this mean they can shop whenever they want and still save time," Mr Grech said.