An online aggregator called Guzzle has vowed to make it easy for South African shoppers to find affordable products, and to promote retailers with little online presence.
The South African specialist search engine collects and lists the products, their prices and the stores that sell them. Shoppers then get to compare the prices at Guzzle’s website before they can make purchases at the stores.
“We let consumers know which Major retailer in South Africa has the best price on white label goods and groceries,” Ric Meulemans, Guzzle’s CEO told HumanIPO.
Meulemans said they do this by uploading and dissecting broadsheets, filled with a range of products from South Africa’s major retailers.
“You are looking for a TV, but want to know which retailer has the best deal. We have built a bridge between the offline, including newspaper ads, and put them online so consumers can quickly compare prices and see which retailer has the best price. Most Major retailers in SA, are just starting to sell goods online,” said Meulemans.
Guzzle exclusively provides the information and does not go through the sales transactions. The product listing is done for free making it easy for retailers to increase their online presence.
Meulemans explains major retailers, unlike small retailers, do not really want to sell goods online, as they already have huge stores, full of staff, and want feet in the store.
“Guzzle makes its revenue by selling advertising space, and by charging for the leads they push through to the major retailers,” he continued.
Launched in September last year, Guzzle has since attributed aggressive campaign aimed at attracting retailers to its progress.
“We try and explain that if I want to buy a Fridge, it’s pointless for me to come in-store, if I already know what I want, as the fridge won’t fit in my car anyway. All I want to know is which retailer has the best deal, then click buy, and it’s delivered to my door the next day,” said Meulemans.
The initial three months saw Guzzle drive traffic to the site using paid search such as Google ad, Facebook and Twitter. It afterwards turned off the ads when the site started attracting over 3000 unique visitors a day.
This saved the company over R40, 000 monthly in advertising, Guzzle says.
The site has over 40 major retailers listing and serves over 5 million people at present.
