Bunnings Says It Is 'Matching Peers' With Ecommerce Capability

Michael Schneider, MD of Bunnings, has said that the retailer has become a stronger e-commerce player as a result of launching online services amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Schneider made the comments during a Trans-Tasman Business Circle virtual event in October, stating that the retailer had caught up with competitors, despite only having launched a transactional website in late 2019.

He said, “The quality of that service offer now… if we came from behind we're certainly matching our peers in terms of experience,” 

“Our aspirations in this space and our ongoing investments will allow us to move to technologies and platforms that make it even easier.” 

At the start of the year, Bunnings took on Amazon with the launch of its online marketplace: MarketLink  

Jacqui Coombes, Bunnings' Group HR and New Zealand ‎director, explained that opening a transactional website in New Zealand had been in the pipeline, but the country's strict early lockdown forced the company to fast-track the development.

She said the site was “swamped with thousands and thousands of orders” on the day of launch, adding, "It wasn't perfect, but we had an online offer and we were able to transact with customers online which was just amazing,” 

“New Zealand [Bunnings] would have been in a very different position if we hadn't have been able to to get online up and running as quickly as we did.” 

Mr Schneider said that the Bunnings Product Finder app was well used by customers to navigate stores and the PowerPass app - which has been downloaded more than 200,000 times - helped tradespeople to pay for goods via their phones, reducing risk of virus transmission. He advised that an online trade offer is in the works for 2021.

Mr Schneider told attendees at the event that Bunnings is on an digital transformation journey, stating: “it's not just about selling more products online, it's about enabling our team to communicate digitally and engage quickly.” 

“We are making really solid investments into technology to better support our people, whether it's rostering systems, payroll systems, or training systems that allow us to be more agile and more flexible," 

Source : Insight DIY Team

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