The Shoppster platform offers more than 100,000 products for all purposes. Customer have already recognised that shopping through Shoppster.com is easy, delivery is fast and payment is secure, as is the goods return mechanism
Shoppster, as the only integrated online and TV store in Serbia and Slovenia, is preparing to enter other countries in the region, primarily the markets of Bulgaria, Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina, reveals CEO Ahmetović exclusively for CorD.
When it entered the e-commerce business, United Group, in addition to Serbia, immediately decided to join the Slovenian market. How much does starting a business differ on these two markets, and how much difference is there in online shopping habits?
– If we compare the Serbian e-commerce market with the e-commerce markets in the region, our market is still less developed. Until the appearance of Shoppster, customers in Serbia did not even have a large selection of online stores that offer such an assortment of products in one place, with a high level of security. When we decided to enter the Slovenian market, we wanted to do so through a reliable partner with a rich history, good results and a positive image among customers.
The choice fell on one of the then-largest and most reliable e-stores in Slovenia, ideo.si, which we first rebranded to shoppster.com at the end of last year, and at the end of last month we successfully migrated all data and products to a new platform – SAP Hybris. This is currently the most technologically advanced solution for platforms that offer a solution for all business models – in our specific case, they are a marketplace, dropshipping and retail. The transition to the new Shoppster platform brought customers in Slovenia an even better shopping experience, a more excellent choice of brands and the opportunity for small manufacturers and retailers to open their own e-shops on one of the world’s best online platforms in just a few days.
You recently entered into a significant partnership with Sportina Group – tell us more about it; what does it mean?
– The partnership with Sportina and its experienced and professional team allows us to set the highest standards in online sales in this category and provide our customers with the best experience. Sportina is widely recognised as Southeast Europe’s largest retailer in the fashion industry and represents over 90 well-known fashion brands in 11 surrounding countries.
Small and micro businesses get the opportunity to become Shoppster suppliers or create their online shop on our platform
Through long-term cooperation with the Sportina Group, we will provide customers with rich, diverse and attractive offers of world-renowned fashion brands for women and men on Shoppster online and TV stores in Slovenia, Serbia and other countries we enter with our integrated store. Customers have the opportunity to order products from 14 brands that are famous worldwide.
Why strategic cooperation with a fashion company? What is the advantage of this collaboration for Shoppster customers?
– Fashion is the fastest-growing category in e-commerce, both in Europe and around the world. Changes in consumer habits around the world have mainly been noticed, and these trends are slowly coming to us. COVID played a significant role in these changes, with many customers seeking to buy clothes or shoes in this way for the first time, and being convinced of the comfort that online shopping brings, compared to physically going to shopping centres or other retail outlets.
Our focus is on monitoring and listening to the habits of our users, understanding their lifestyles. In this way, together with experts from Sportina, we provide our customers with the guarantee of an always attractive offer of clothes, shoes and accessories at the Shoppster online and TV store. Of course, special offers are being prepared for the members of our loyalty programme.
Is Shoppster a place where small brands can come to the fore, given that many of them have had to turn to online sales? What support do they get?
– We are incredibly proud of the inclusion of small suppliers on our platform, because we believe that many of them in Serbia and Slovenia have quality products, but at the same time lack experience in online shopping or the funds required to raise their online store, promote their brand and thus position themselves highly on the market. In this regard, we have focused unique resources and our team on constantly supporting these partners. This has been ongoing for some time in Serbia, and we can boast of our excellent cooperation with small suppliers. With the transition to a new platform in Slovenia, we have brought this opportunity to the country, so we are currently animating the market in that direction.
Small and micro businesses get the opportunity to become Shoppster suppliers or create their online shop on our platform, using the marketplace model with the help of the Shoppster team.
In Serbia we are even launching an offer of packaged food and developing premium delivery services, such as same-day delivery
Shoppster is an integrated platform – in addition to online sales, customers can choose to order after seeing products and their functionality on a TV channel, right?
– Yes, Shoppster is a unique online and TV store. Customers can see what products look like and what their purpose is on the TV and You- Tube channel Shoppster, but also when they decide to buy a product and it arrives they are not limited to instructions for use, because they have available our experienced managers who are well acquainted with certain types of products. Through the show, they demonstrate how the product is used and share their experience and impressions with the viewers. Customers can then call the contact centre or visit the website and order the product.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that you can find everything in one place with us. Given today’s times, when we are all overwhelmed by obligations, fast, expeditious and simple shopping is an imperative in trade. The customer receives a service from us at the level of the world’s largest e-shops, such as Amazon, Alibaba or Allegro.
What are your further plans for Shoppster?
– We are developing new functionalities that will make shopping even easier and more enjoyable; we monitor customer behaviour on our platform – their reactions and comments – intensively. We are preparing new offers, new products; in Serbia we are even launching an offer of packaged food and developing premium delivery services, such as same-day delivery.
We find motivation for all of this in customers who enjoy using all the advantages of online shopping, return frequently and have the most prominent consumer basket – they also achieve the most excellent savings when shopping. These are members of the Shoppster Smart loyalty programme, which we launched in Serbia at the end of last year and plan to launch in Slovenia by September at the latest.