Sefalana�s first online shopping takes off
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday November 30, 2015 15:01
Sefalana director of Finance, Mohamed Osman says so far the response has been positive and they are getting a lot of interest.
“Those who have seen similar offering in Europe and other parts of the world are very excited to see this in the local market,” he said. “We are also finding that our customers have welcomed the free delivery offering that is in place until January 1, 2016.”
The online shop went live on November 15.
Osman added: “We hope our customers welcome this as a means of easier and more convenient shopping for the Christmas season when perhaps our customers want to reduce the time spent on the roads and in shops. We offer a next day delivery service where customers can select their preferred delivery times. We deliver to residential addresses or even business addresses so as to cater for those who are busy at work and would prefer us to push the trolley for them and deliver the product to where they are.
“Sefalana is proud to be the first FMCG chain to bring a full range of groceries to our customers through an online platform. This is a great step forward for us at Sefalana but also for the Botswana market. As our customers become more accustomed to purchasing online, this concept is expected grow at a tremendous speed. Already there is a significant level of transactions being done worldwide through online purchasing, and we are honoured to bring this to our Botswana market.”
Osman says they are currently offering this service in Gaborone only but plan to roll this out to other parts of Botswana in 2016, starting with the larger cities and then moving into smaller towns with an aim to cover most parts of the country by 2017.
The Sefalana director says establishing the online shop has been an expensive project as, “we needed to ensure we use the best software and development. Further costs are expected as we enhance and improve the offering, but we anticipate the benefits to outweigh the costs”.
Osman also says Sefalana used a local company to assist with the development of the site, supported by a South African firm of consultants and software support from overseas.
Meanwhile, Sefalana won three awards at the Price Waterhouse Coopers ceremony last week for the best-published corporate reports and accounts awards. The prizes include first prize for the commerce and industry sector, overall winner for best annual report in Botswana and the best-designed annual report for 2015.