Coles on eBay – an online shop offering most instore categories except bakery, deli, meat, fridge
Only 3% of Aussies shop for groceries online. The Coles on eBay move opens this service up to eBay’s 11 million monthly visitors.
Shoppers in metro Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane can access Coles on eBay with products available at the same national in-store prices. If you are an eBay Plus, members get free delivery on orders over $49 and over and double the number of flybuys points. Non-members pay $10 per delivery. Delivery typically is 2-4 days – so it’s not a substitute for popping down to Coles.
Coles joins the 40,000 Australian retailers that are already trading on eBay including Myer, The Good Guys and Target.
Tim MacKinnon, Managing Director of eBay Australia and New Zealand, said,
“Coles is one of Australia’s oldest and most trusted brands, so we’re excited to welcome them to eBay as they broaden their online channels. Both eBay and Coles share the vision of providing convenience, range and value to our customers and together we can make it even easier for Aussies to meet all their shopping needs in one place.”
Coles Online Chief Executive, Alister Jordan said,
“We are always looking for ways to make life easier for our customers. By partnering with eBay, we are providing our customers with another convenient way to access our products and have them delivered straight to their door.”
Coles on eBay offers an unattended delivery option that enables orders to be left if no-one is home. Further delivery options will come
Visit Coles on eBay at ebay.com.au/coles.
GadgetGuy’s take: There is more to this
It’s telling that only 3% of Aussies have tried online grocery shopping. Coles on eBay is almost the same as ordering from Coles Online only it uses eBay infrastructure and PayPal payment options. Coles hopes it will lead to a new source of tech-savvy customers.
Amazon launched Amazon Fresh in October 2018 and offers ‘select pantry food and drinks’ – nowhere near the Coles offering. Typically, it offers manufacturer backed discounts – not a full catalogue. From what we hear it is performing well below expectations, as is Amazon itself. It is not the behemoth here that it is in the US.
At the time Coles MD Steven Cain said Amazon would face a huge fresh food supply chain hurdle before it can become a one-stop-shop for Australian customers. The current Amazon Fresh pages indicate that.
It’s nice to see access to a substantial part of Coles catalogue on eBay and as it already has a home delivery fleet, it can offer a better service than sending via external couriers.
