PriceCheck, SnapScan team up to take ecommerce offline

Online price comparison service PriceCheck has teamed up with mobile payments service SnapScan and ecommerce delivery outfit Pargo to bring ecommerce to those retail brochures that are the closest thing you get to actual post these days.

According to a press release sent to Ventureburn, shoppers will be able to browse for products from bricks and mortar retailers on PriceCheck’s mobile optimised catalogues before paying for their chosen products with SnapScan. While completing the SnapScan checkout process, instead of choosing a delivery address, shoppers will be prompted to select a Pargo collection point that is most convenient to them. From discovery to delivery, all with just a few taps on a phone.

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“Brick and mortar stores need no longer spend any resources on building websites, choosing payment gateways and delivery partners,” PriceCheck says. Instead, the Naspers-owned company says, it “brings together all of these logistics in-house at a fraction of the cost. The biggest benefit of the new offering is its mobile-centric approach, as it puts the power in the hands of the people who matter, customers”.

With the new capabilities, PriceCheck says it has “evolved to more than a price comparison site”. According to the press release, it now sees itself as “a mobile market leader that functions as a truly useful and complete mobile shopping destination”.

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“South African shoppers still prefer to do their research online before purchasing products offline, however they can now fully step into the mobile arena to find what they need, pay and even decide on the most convenient delivery method,” the company says. “PriceCheck has positioned itself perfectly to marry offline stores and mobile shoppers, and in so doing leads the way in putting choice back in the hands of the consumer.”