Buying a new cellular telephone recharge card has never been easier thanks to a new on-line service whereby - at the click of a button - you can buy and activate a card.
This new service has been launched by MegaShopper, which is a service of McCarthy Online, part of McCarthy Retail - South Africa`s leading electronic retailer (other services include Call-a-Car, B2B and Eliance - web development).
In terms of the new service, MTN "Pay As You Go" or Vodacom VodaGo cellular subscriber can purchase a cellular recharge card on-line and have it activated within minutes. "We believe this is a tremendous service in that there is no extra cost, no visiting of outlets and no hassle involved in the process," says Lourens Botha, managing director of McCarthy Online.
The process is extremely simple. This is how it works. Firstly, you click on www.megashopper.co.za, then you click on "Cell Phones" and subsequently "Recharge Cards". You select the card of your choice and "Add to cart". The transaction is then validated and loaded onto your profile.
Within one hour (normal office hours), you can revisit the same Cell Phones, Recharge Cards page. Click on "Collect purchased cards" and you will receive the necessary pin code that will allow you to redeem your card. And voila! You are ready to talk to the world again!
Stationery, an essential element in any business or household, has also just been added onto the MegaShopper website. Comments Botha: "Traditionally, stationery has been known to be one of the biggest running expenses of any business or school-going child. In launching this service, we`d like to change that trend."
He says that, whether shoppers are purchasing stationery as a business or as an individual consumer, they won`t find a better price and service offering than that offered by MegaShopper. "The range is comprehensive and includes everything from paper to print cartridges and writing instruments. This is all backed up by the friendly, effective home delivery service that you have come to know and expect from MegaShopper," he comments.
The MegaShopper site - which offers consumers retail shopping on-line - has also proved to be a success and rates amongst the top 20 local sites. A total of 6 700 customers have registered with the site, spending an average of R748 per order.
The two new products have been added in line with McCarthy Retail`s expectations of e-commerce growth in this country. According to Botha, consumer spending on the web amounted to R500 million in 1997, R1,2 billion in 1998 (an increase of 140%) and an estimated R2,7 billion last year (an increase of 125%). A total of 1,5 million individuals in this country access the net regularly - amounting to 3% of the South African population over 18 years old. It is predicted that 10,5% of all households in this country will have Internet access by 2003 while 20% of high-income earners will be active users.
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