Massmart said the product range on the Builders Warehouse online platform, launched in early 2017, has been expanded to 26,000 items and sales growth remains very high with incredible customer support.
Retail giant Massmart, which owns Game, Makro and Builders’ Warehouse, is getting the benefits of its investment in e-commerce platforms and is gearing up to drive more online sales to capture its clients who prefer to buy its products through digital platforms.
The company, which is owned by US-based retail giant Walmart, said on Thursday that online sales now represent 1.6% of group sales sitting at R41.7 billion in the first half of its 2018 financial year.
Massmart reported that its omnichannel focus, which improves its customers’ choice and experience, was rewarded with its online sales growing by 69%.
“This was achieved through our four e-commerce points of presence (being Makro, Game, DionWired and Builders Warehouse), all of which are currently utilising or migrating to the SAP Hybris platform,” the company disclosed on Thursday.
The company added that combined Makro, Game, DionWired and Builders Warehouse achieved a 23% increase in average online basket size and a 159% growth in online traffic.
Massmart said the product range on the Builders Warehouse online platform, launched in early 2017, has been expanded to 26,000 items and sales growth remains very high with incredible customer support.
The firm’s Massdiscounters, which consists of the 142-store general merchandise and food discounter Game, reported a 4% decline in total sales to R9.1 billion in the first half of its 2018 financial year.
As part of e-commerce push, Massmart said Game launched its online shopping platform using SAP Hybris and DionWired moved from its legacy online system to SAP Hybris in March 2018.
“The more significant SAP ERP system implementation remains on schedule for early 2019,” the company said.
The company is also planning to replace Masswarehouse’s legacy online platform with SAP Hybris. During the period, Massmart said Masswarehouse online sales grew by 27%.
On Thursday, Massmart reported a 42% decline in half-year earnings negatively impacted by restructuring costs and weak consumer spending.
The company’s headline earnings per share came in at 96 cents billion in the first half of its 2018 financial year versus 169 cents a share in the same period a year earlier.
This article first appeared in techfinancials.co.za
