(5 February 2006) bobshop recently launched its new software solution, which has been tailored specifically for the South African market. The advanced solution, designed to improve trading efficiency on the bobshop site, includes a host of new functionality and features.

"We have always been committed to investigating various ways of making the trading experiences on our site as effective and proficient as possible," says Andy Higgins, managing director at bobshop. "We realise the diversity of the South African market and, as a result, the need for solutions that are exclusively designed to meet local requirements. Cited examples of these needs include a pleasurable online buying or selling experience, enhanced safety and security measures when doing business via the Internet, as well as processes that ensure uncomplicated online purchases. Our new software caters for these specific needs, allowing an easier and more pleasant trading experience for both the buyer and seller. Paramount to the new software is the enhancement of the shipping and payment solutions, which are outlined below," says Higgins.

Shipping

bobshop's new software solution is designed to handle almost the entire sales process on the site - whether it is an auction or direct sale - and provides tools to both the buyer and seller to ensure streamlined trading activities. To allow for this functionality, the exact final cost of a transaction needs to be calculated by the system at the point of sale. This is particularly difficult in a marketplace such as the local one, where the various buyers and sellers can be located anywhere in the world.

"In answer to this requirement, we devised a process that makes use of the South African postal system, where every postal code in South Africa is mapped to a shipping locality," says Higgins. "When buyers and sellers register on the site they are assigned to a shipping locality based on their postal code, easing the shipping and delivery of goods. Additionally, sellers have the decision to create shipping options, such as setting delivery costs for local, national and international delivery of the items they sell. This allows for the final transaction amount - including shipping - to be calculated at the point of sale. Advanced options for the seller allow them to set a base shipping amount for each option as well as an amount for each additional quantity sold."

Payment solution

"We have also made remarkable improvements to our unique credit card payment solution - bobPay - which is integrated with the shipping order process," says Higgins. bobPay is a payment solution similar to PayPal, whereby bobshop accepts credit card payment on behalf of sellers, thus providing a quick and easy way for users to make and receive payments in a secure online environment. Higgins continues; "Buyers and sellers can look forward to our next software release, which is an extension of bobPay that will allow for instant Internet bank transfer - by far the most popular form of payment on the bobshop.co.za site."

"Prompts"

Another new innovation is a functionality called "Prompts". A prompt allows sellers to request additional information from buyers at the point of sale (which includes a possible extra charge depending on the options selected by the buyer). This enables buyers and sellers to exchange information during the order process that is likely to enhance the buying experience. For example, if a seller is selling T-shirts on the site, the function can be utilised to request the buyer's preferred colour and size or the seller could wrap an item on behalf of the buyer and attach a message, in the case of it being a gift.

Fixed price sales component

Furthermore, the "Buy Now" (fixed price) sales component, where an item is available for immediate purchase, has been enhanced by adding a shopping cart system and order process for fixed price sales. This allows buyers to select various items simultaneously by putting it in their shopping cart, as well as order certain products that might be out of stock at a specific time.

Classified Contact

A further improvement to the current system is a function called Classified Contact - aimed predominantly at the property, cars and services sectors. Under normal circumstances, these types of purchases require personal interaction between the buyer and the seller to conclude the transaction. With the new solution, sellers are able to list items in these categories for a nominal fee and interested buyers will be put into direct contact with the seller to conclude a deal, should an agreement be reached.

"While bobshop has enjoyed a strong market presence for several years, many are unaware of the locally developed technology and architecture behind the site's interface. We are exceptionally proud of the additional functionality and efficiency that the new software presents to our users and we look forward to even further improvements and developments throughout the year. Based on the immense growth that Bob Shop has experienced over the past few months, it is evident that e-commerce is alive and growing in South Africa - in terms of both business models and technology - and we are excited to be part of this growing industry," Higgins concludes.