DionWired revamps online store

·22 Nov 2013

DionWired has revamped its online store, introducing more consumer-centric features ahead of an expected busy Black Friday and Christmas period.

Apart from a visual redesign, DionWired has also added new features to make the site more consumer-friendly – including a new payment gateway partner, new servers and independent and on-site product reviews.

The site also now features a new live chat function, where customers can chat to the service department for more information on products.

“Motivated by the increased Internet trading, and a notably growing ‘research online, purchase offline’ shopping trend, the new website is designed to be highly customer-friendly…creating convenient shopping channels both online and with a parallel in-store experience,” said DionWired director, Andrew Jackson.

According to Jackson, since launching its online store in November 2012, the company has seen “significant growth” on it’s online channel, with online traffic and sales growing over 200% in the past 12 months.

The retailer has also seen growth in access to its virtual storefront via mobile, which now accounts for 25% of all traffic to the site, DionWired said.

While DionWired could not share specific sales and traffic figures, the electronics and digital retailer told BusinessTech that its average online basket size was sitting at R4,500 per user, while month-to-date sales for November were up 252% compared to last year.

Next Friday (29 November) – known as “Black Friday”, or the beginning of the Christmas shopping season – is expected be the biggest day for online sales, DionWired said.

According to the retailer, the imminent launch of Sony’s next gaming console – the PlayStation 4 – has driven pre-order sales via it’s online channel, with TVs, coffee machines and other small appliances also proving successful sale items online.