- Coles Online
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Coles Online Type Online retailer Owner(s) Coles Supermarkets Coles Online is an electronic commerce website operated by Coles Supermarkets, Australia's second largest supermarket chain, that offers a range of fresh food, dry goods and liquor for purchase via the Internet and subsequent home or office delivery.
Contents
History and development
Coles Online first accepted orders in 1999, delivering to selected areas in Sydney and Melbourne although the business model was unprofitable. During the 1999–2000 financial year, the business was reported to be losing A$0.056 for every A$1 of sales.[1]
In order to acquire greater market share and reverse losses, Coles Online purchased Sydney based internet grocery store Shopfast in 2003.[2] Although unprofitable, at the time Shopfast was the largest online grocer in Australia.
During this period, all orders placed by customers were filled in dedicated warehouses[3] and it was not until 2007 when Coles Online, influenced by UK executives recruited to the company, moved to a store-based order fulfilment model.
In July 2008, to complement the new picking processes, Coles Online launched a new website[4] with a view to making Internet shopping faster and easier for customers, as well as adding many new features already standard for other online grocery stores, but at that time still absent from the Coles site.
With the new website and order fulfilment model in place, Coles Online undertook an aggressive expansion program to extend delivery areas beyond Melbourne and Sydney, the only two cities included in the online program since 1999. In October 2008 the delivery area was extended to Newcastle and Canberra, as well as Brisbane and The Gold Coast, with the Sunshine Coast added in February 2009. By October 2009 Queensland was the top retail market for Coles Online in Australia, surpassing the New South Wales and Victoria regions that had been in operation for 10 years.[5]
In April 2009, Coles Online began deliveries to Perth for the first time,[6] and in June of the same year became the first major grocery retailer to introduce online shopping to Adelaide.[7] Coles Online also began deliveries to Hamilton Island in mid 2009.[8]
In November 2011, Coles Online created a flurry of social media comment[9] [10], following their decision to not supply items at the price that was offered . Coles Online explained[11] " On Monday night, November 14 2011, there was an error on our site which affected James Squire 345ml Bottles 24 pack and Coopers Sparkling Ale Bottle 375ml 24 pack. Unfortunately we will not be able to supply these lines at the incorrect prices. A small number of customers have been delivered these items. We stopped supply as soon as we became aware of the error however a handful of customers may have received lines before this cut off occurred."
However, many consumers expressed their discontent with explanation on facebook[9], twitter[10] and other places. The incident also received a lot of criticism from industry players like John Winning of Appliances Online, who considered the cost of not honouring sales greater than any losses they might have made on the beer[12].
See also
References
- ^ [url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-79751111.html]
- ^ [url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-102046457.ht],
- ^ "etailtoday.com.au". http://www.etailtoday.com.au/Articles/tabid/54/Latest/306/Supermarkets-stage-online-ambush.aspx. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ [url = http://www.supplier.coles.com.au/documents/whats-new/ColesSupermarketsSupplierNewsWinter2008.pdf]
- ^ [url = http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26250589-23272,00.htm],
- ^ [url = http://lifeinaustralia.today.com/2009/04/22/coles-online-grocery-shopping-arrives-in-perth/],
- ^ [url = http://www.etailtoday.com.au/Articles/tabid/54/Latest/118/Coles-blazes-Adelaide-trail.aspx],
- ^ [url = http://www.holidayathamiltonisland.com/Links.php]
- ^ a b [url = http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coles-Online/271987761621?sk=wall]
- ^ a b [url = http://twitter.com/#!/search/colesonline]
- ^ [url = https://www.colesonline.com.au/wcsstore/ConsumerDirectStorefrontAssetStore/images/catalog/COL_Customer_Messages/COLCM141111.htm]
- ^ "No beer today: what Coles Online should learn from their pricing error". Winning.com.au. http://winning.com.au/retail/coles-online/.
External links
Wesfarmers Limited Coles Coles Supermarkets · BI-LO Supermarkets · Pick 'n Pay Hypermarket · Coles Online · Liquorland · Vintage Cellars · 1st Choice Liquor Superstore · Coles ExpressHome Improvement
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