Ecommerce - stick to what you do best

As a person involved in scaling and all things tech I am finding a special interest in ecommerce. One store has piqued my interest somewhat and I’m going to share some thoughts on the process and what I notice from the outside. Noting, I am doing this as I believe in this article there are some key points that we can all liveby and make sure we not making similar mistakes in our own business.??

Also note that my comments are my own as an observer and a client of Makro – my views may change given access to reports on finances, spending etc regarding ecommerce.??

Over the last few months, I have purchased a few items from Marko. The first transaction is a chair I bought that was defect and I needed to return it.??

27 November – return logged:? MAK8178449, on a side note, a return requires images to be sent through showing the status and quality of the return.??

03 Dec – Makro requested me to send images for the return – why? I have sent them already – “system issue.”?

10 Dec – acknowledgement received saying the item had been received at the supplier – they will now assess the return.??

17 Dec – I sent a follow up?

18 Dec – refund request was approved??

27 Dec – refund amount received??

This is not normal nor is it acceptable. Yes given 3 public holidays later and 4 weeks I received a refund. I did try and return it to the store and it was rejected saying it must go through the online portal.??

Now I have a 2nd refund pending MAK8515131 where I ordered 2 Winx power banks supplied by Zids and Rizs wholesalers PTY Ltd. The items received were a Chinese knock off and the tech specs did not even match what I ordered.?

Why does Makro move away from their key offering – Bulk items. Ecommerce and your online offering should be an extension of what you do first and then branch out. Makro has jumped on the marketplace offering to compete with the likes of:?

Takealot – you cannot match their service even remotely closely – doing 2 different deliveries on an order is annoying and costing Makro surely. Service is lacking severely, you cannot compete. Reviews are crucial and add credibility to the site – given refund application no.2, the seller still has the same item on your site – 3 weeks after reporting it. Why does Makro not look after its buyers? Hold people accountable and shut them down, are there not service levels in place???

Amazon market place – while it’s fresh and new in SA why compete head-to-head instead of focusing on your core business – Bulk buying???

Builders – builders doing the marketplace angle also however, it can as the items are large, not mall things. Be selective in what products you offer.?

Marko should stick to what its good at. The bulk buying and ordering are simple, doing the same retain site Massmart for all the brands is cost effective in the short run however as a strategy, it will cost your market share not gain it.??

Do a combined marketplace for all the brands and brand it as Massmart - then compete. Remove the marketplace from Marko – allow returns directly at the stores level. Step up the service levels and client communications. If you don’t look after your clients someone else will!?

I’m going to end with this one last snippet:?

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?If you want to compete focus on the client and what you are offering and do that very well. Increase turnaround – have a simpler check out, an in-store counter where you arrive, and your items are all picked and packed for you etc there are a few ideas you should be looking at that can be termed ‘ecommerce’. It will increase your sales and keep clients happier. The online store is not a copy and paste, they are different brands and offerings for a reason so don’t treat them the same online!??

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