A Jumbo way to shop

Vishesh Bhatia; Nadeem Khanzadah; Amal Kadam, CEO and co-founder; Hari Kesavan; Vishal Mehta; Tarek El-Yafi, Industry manager - retail and e-commerece - Mena Google, and Joy Ajlouny during the launch of new online portal in Dubai on Tuesday. — KT photo by Shihab

Dubai: Leading UAE consumer retailer and distributor Jumbo Electronics on Tuesday unveiled its new online store, promising seamless shopping wherever you are and guaranteeing next-day UAE-wide delivery — even on orders placed up to 8pm.

The all-new portal — www.jumbo.ae — becomes live today and will combine Jumbo’s definitive retail expertise with the benefits of top-of-the-line e-commerce technologies. The move is part of the company’s pledge to “redefine” the regional shopping experience for consumer electronics by offering a fully-integrated platform that serves consumers online and offline in a simplified process.

“This is like the ‘reinvention’ of Jumbo Corporation,” Vishesh Bhatia, chief executive officer of Jumbo Electronics, said at the event in Dubai. Bhatia also dedicated the company’s newest venture to the conglomerate’s founder, the late M.R. Chhabria.

Jumbo has partnered with several experts in order to provide the best-possible services to customers. In the digital strategy space, it has signed up Indian e-commerce giant Infibeam, Dubai-based digital solutions specialists RBBi and tech titan Google to provide top-notch online shopping experience, while Mena360, the only last-mile delivery expert in the region, has been appointed as logistics partner.

“Customers are always looking for good prices and deals... but aside from these there are a lot more that they are seeking,” Nadeem Khanzadah, head of omnichannel retail at Jumbo Group, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event. “It is the entire convenience that we try to enforce that is also very important.”

Bhatia and Khanzadah were joined at the event by Vishal Mehta, founder and chief executive officer of Infibeam and a veteran at Amazon.com; Amol Kadam, co-founder and chief executive officer of RBBi; Joy Ajlouny, co-founder and creative director of business development at Mena360; Tarek El Yafi, industry manager for retail and e-commerce for the Mena at Google; Hari Kesavan, technology consultant to Jumbo; and Madhav Joshi, business manager of online retail at Jumbo.

Khanzadah stressed that though it was a long process, coming up with the right partners for the website was the top priority in order to provide the best services.

“We spent a lot of time doing research and we did a lot of due diligence; we scouted around and explored various options,” he said.

“[Even on the] platform, we explored both branded software and completely open-source, low-end ones... in the end, we went for something that is very flexible and highly customisable.”

“The one common thing here is that we go with specialists in everything we do,” he added.

Expert service, advice

The new portal offers a shopping experience akin to that of being on a mobile or tablet, thanks to its simple and speedy process. It also addresses the challenges faced by shoppers at pure-play online stores, such as difficulty in processing returns or lack of access to customer support or human interaction.

Aside from guaranteed next-day deliveries across the entire UAE, the website also offers services such as payment via card, which is critical for those who are reluctant to share their credit or debit card details online. And especially for women clients, there is also the option to request a female staff to deliver the products.

The Jumbo online shopping website has incorporated thoughtful features such as a Product Wizard, which recommends or simply inspires shoppers to choose products for themselves or as gifts. The wizard can be compared to an in-store assistant that shows the best options across single or multiple product category preferences, based on budget, technology habits, shopper profile and interests. It also allows shoppers to compare the different products at a glance.

“For the last 40 years, Jumbo has consistently set the benchmark for consumer electronics retail in the region. We introduced organised retail into our sector here and today we are offering what is undoubtedly the first truly omnichannel experience for consumer electronics shoppers in the region,” Bhatia said. “Our goal is to offer the same high level of products and customer service that we are known for in our stores, to our online customers as well. This move is one part of a deliberate strategy towards entering the digital space.”

alvin@khaleejtimes.com