Online retail blossoms, even without promised bandwidth boom

Johannesburg, 2 July, 2009 - Online retailer NetFlorist is gearing up to celebrate its 10th birthday with a boom in the South African online shopping market, even though the promise of more accessible and affordable bandwidth remains a long-term prospect for beleaguered local consumers.

Ryan Bacher, MD of NetFlorist, says additional and more affordable bandwidth is key to driving greater traffic and revenues across the local online retail space. Bacher believes his company is "well poised" to cash in following a series of infrastructure upgrades and an expanded offering.

"Online retail growth is also being driven by factors like sheer convenience and high fuel prices," said Bacher. "With some five million South Africans now online, we have an increasingly web-savvy public, who are opting for the simplicity and reliability of shopping from their desks and their homes in growing numbers."

Despite many retailers feeling the economic pinch, Bacher says NetFlorist has continued to show robust growth. Trading figures are 20 percent up year-on-year, with December sales rocketing some 40% over the 2007 festive season.

Website traffic has also shown steady growth – something that NetFlorist marketing director Sue Morris attributes partly to the new website and expanded product range. NetFlorist, which opened its virtual doors for trading at the height of the dotcom boom in 1999, currently sells more than 220 floral and 400 gift items. It recently launched a brand new website to cater for the sharp increases in traffic to the site.

"With more than 80% of our business coming from the Internet, it is vital to stay ahead of the game," said Morris. "We're seeing good growth in online purchasing, with customers increasingly enjoying the diverse and safe shopping environment that online retailing brings."

Bacher says that while a change in the cost of broadband will inevitably drive more people online, it is those businesses with clear value propositions and an understanding of the dynamics of the online market that will be able to take the greatest advantage of the enhanced environment.

"We've not only changed our online presence, but we've also tweaked our business model along the way," said Bacher. "We've got our own warehouse where we distribute our gifts and flowers from, along with a small network of florists that we work closely with to deliver across the country. So in a sense, we've moved from being a purely virtual business to one with a ‘bricks and mortar' presence too."

This includes backing up NetFlorist's online portal with a call centre that offers users greater levels of assurance – a factor that is key to the site's success.

10 years on, NetFlorist has established itself as the premier floral and gifting business in SA.

Says Bacher: "We now look forward to entrenching this position and expanding into new mediums where we can offer our services – this may include physical retail and mobile commerce."

About NetFlorist

NetFlorist is the largest flower and gifting supplier in the country, having delivered in excess of 750 000 items since its inception in 1999. NetFlorist is in the business of delivering emotions and encouraging customers to connect with the important people in their lives, in the most convenient way.

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