By Claire Reilly
After much industry speculation, Harvey Norman quietly launched its new e-commerce offering today, known as Harvey Norman Online.
The Harvey Norman website now features a splash across the homepage, showcasing a variety of products from categories including whitegoods, floor care, personal care, consumer electronics and audio visual products. It also discloses that that orders on the site are processed by “the eCommerce Agency Pty Limited (trading as Harvey Norman Online), an independent franchisee”.
The website offers consumers the option to “buy online [and] pickup in store” or choose “home delivery”, with products being dispatched from the consumer’s nearest Harvey Norman store.
Harvey Norman is promoting particularly products in its range with ‘bonus offers’, including bonus $40, $75 and $100 gift cards, as well as value-adds such as bonus maps on navigation products. In addition, individual product category pages on the website – such as gaming, computers and cameras – feature their own Hot Deals listed at the bottom.
There are upsell opportunities on individual products too, with options to add warranties and product care plans to purchases. Harvey Norman Online is also linked in with the company’s social media presence, giving consumers the option to share their favourite products on Facebook, send them in an email, or tweet the details on Twitter.
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According to the website, purchases can be made with GO MasterCard, Visa, MasterCard or through a PayPal, and postage varies from $5.95 for small products up to $199 per box for delivery of “extra bulky” items to areas defined as “Remote (more than 100km)”.
In terms of product pricing, Harvey Norman prices can now easily be compared to the e-tailing branches of other stores. The iPad 2 (16GB, Wi-Fi only model) is listed on the site for $553, $26 cheaper than the Apple store online price of $579. The product is listed for in-store pick-up only. Conversely, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer is available for $498, $27 more than the $471 price tag that JB Hi-Fi listed in a recent catalogue.
The Fisher & Paykel 519-litre Upside Down Fridge is listed as $1,698, and comes with a bonus $75 gift card – more expensive than the same product offered on Winning Appliances’ e-commerce channel, Appliances Online, for $1,597.
The Harvey Norman website now offers consumers the option of buying online.
A selection of products on Harvey Norman Online.