MASSMARTUPDATE

PUBLISHED MARCH 2013

Growing customer demand

In less than three years, the DionWired brand has grown from just three stores to 19 and is now present in all the major centres across the country. It has come a long way since opening its first store in Centurion, Pretoria, in 2006 and it currently employs about 600 people throughout South Africa.

DionWired has more than lived up to its intended positioning as South Africa’s ‘premiere consumer electronics and appliances concept store’, inspiring customers with its comprehensive range of audio, TV, DVD and satellite products to gaming and movies, computing, appliances, photography and GPS, complemented by a full bouquet of solution-driven services, including in-store and on-site technical support, to extended warranties, financing and connectivity solutions.

Getting connected

The future of retail is a seamless brand experience across all channels – whether bricks and mortar, mobile or web. DionWired made that connection with its customers with the launch of its website. “DionWired’s online and physical store integration enables our ‘tech-savvy’ consumers to research online and buy in store, research in store and buy online or research and buy online, and as such it is critical that all communication and trading channels are consistent in meeting their targeted customers’ needs and how they position the brand. The intention is to offer customers the opportunity to come in, try out and buy any product in any of our physical stores throughout the major

centres in South Africa, or to shop on our online store which now effectively offers us a presence in every town and city across South Africa,” says DionWired General Manager, Andrew Jackson. The trend to research durable products online is gathering significant momentum and this has a natural tendency to lead to online sales, as more and more South Africans adopt the option of shopping online. “The concept has taken off in small towns and outlying areas where people do not necessarily have ready access to extended ranges and specialist brands,” Jackson notes.

DionWired was the first online store in South Africa to offer real-time TV license validation, a functionality they developed, and a legal requirement in South Africa. As a result, DionWired is the biggest online seller of TVs in South Africa.

“The features of our online store include exclusive online promotions and extended product ranges, free delivery on all orders to anywhere in South Africa and the convenient option of either returning or exchanging your online purchase in any of our physical stores throughout South Africa, or the option of returning your goods with our free pick-up service,” Jackson says.

Buying online

Customer security is their top concern at DionWired. “We have zero tolerance when it comes to fraud and have opted for bank-level encryption at our checkout. We do not save credit card details and we have made use of 3D Secure, an additional level of authentication on credit cards, mandatory on all credit card

The evolution of DionWired’s tech-savvy target market has ultimately driven the brand’s evolution and positioned it for success.

Digital WonDerlanD

Having tech-savvy customers who have researched products online before coming in store to purchase means that DionWired’s in-store service must be expert

MASSMART UPDATE GROU

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orders. In addition, our web and call centre team manually review every order looking for anomalies,” he said.

DionWired is already taking advantage of another trend– shopping by smartphone. According to Jackson, 15% of DionWired web traffic is via mobile devices. This is ahead of the global trend which is well under 10%, confirming just how tech-savvy Massmart customers are.

Digital wonderland

With the continuous evolution and increasing complexity of technology, consumers may prefer shopping at stores, so DionWired invites customers to visit any of their stores to personally try out and engage with any product where their professional and informed enthusiasts are in store to help, maintains Jackson.“The art of retail is all about the shopping experience. We know that our customers want to be excited and delighted by quality, leading brands and specialist ranges offering the latest in technology. Customers also want to receive professional service and advice from our experienced team who will update and educate them on new products and technologies while making it easy for them to use and own their purchase with a comprehensive, solution-focused offering of accessories and complementary services.”

“From the outset, we were very clear that our target market was strictly the higher LSM, discerning customer who knew what he or she wanted when looking to buy electronics or appliances. These were the early adopters of new technology, techno-savvy customers who were, in many cases, second-time buyers of particular products and therefore were informed users who were upgrading. In order to differentiate DionWired’s positioning relative to its competitors, we choose to dominate the arena of customer ‘experience’ and create value beyond merely providing the convenience of merchandise availability, or just competitively priced merchandise for that matter, as these are simply the entry ticket today. It has always been our intention to inspire customers with exciting merchandise and to experience what’s possible,” Jackson says.www.dionwired.co.za

DionWired uniquely offers ‘Tech Smart’ services in all their stores to assist customers with technical know-how that will help them install their TV and get their SMART TV connected to their home Wi-Fi and tablet. “We recognise that today’s merchandise is no longer purchased in isolation. Individual technology-related purchases now add to a customer’s existing technology eco-system and this brings complexity, so we offer ‘Tech Smart’ services that enable solutions for our customers,” said Jackson. IT-related services include a comprehensive offer of either wireless or wired connectivity solutions, data transfers to a customer’s new laptop/tablet, RAM and hard drive upgrades, and virus checks.

Fact Box

DionWired offers the only Full HD online connected TV wall up to 40 m long and effectively demonstrates the difference between TVs ranging from R3,000 to R250,000.

DionWired offers unique branded shop-in-shops showcasing the exclusive offerings of speciality brands such as Bose, Smeg, Nespresso, Whirlpool and Krupps.

DionWired offers a full interactive gaming arcade in all their stores where customers can trial any game and the different gaming formats (X-box, PlayStation, Wii, etc.) before buying.

Currently, DionWired is the only retailer in South Africa to offer a Telkom connectivity kiosk that allows customers to optomise their existing Telkom voice and data service, get advice about ADSL, or sign up for an ADSL home/business connection. This provides customers with a connectivity solution when buying IT, online gaming or SMART TV products.