Retailer Look & Listen's decision to pull the plug on its online sales portal was for business reasons, as not enough volumes were being moved.
The company will cease to sell CDs and MP3 downloads through its site from tomorrow, it told customers through a notice on the site last week. People who have money in virtual wallets have the option of either getting a refund, or converting the amount to a virtual store-based voucher.
Look & Listen CEO Darren Levy explains that the decision to stop selling CDs or MP3s through the site was a business one. He adds that the online unit prided itself on its range and delivery, but has decided to focus on physical outlets.
Levy says fewer people are shopping for CDs in the physical world, and the volumes sold online were insufficient to justify the portal. In addition, the music downloads market is a highly competitive space, both from legitimate and illegal players, he says.
Look & Listen has been online for almost a decade and launched its MP3 downloads around a year-and-a-half ago. "It's a category that's very challenging," says Levy.
The retailer was also eBucks' exclusive online CD provider and will remain its partner in shops, adds Levy. He notes, however, that Look & Listen has kept in contact with the rewards programme through the process.
First National Bank's rewards programme, eBucks, was unveiled in 2000, just before the dot-com bomb led to several ICT companies collapsing, and has given more than R2.7 billion worth of payouts to its members since launch.
Share