Woolworths have updated their popular Woolworths App to allow customers to shop online through their smartphones.
Customers will be able to virtually browse the Woolworths aisles, scan items, pay for them, and arrange to have them delivered to their home or work at whatever time is convenient to them.
The Woolworths App has been downloaded by 1.5 million Australians since it was launched last August. The app now features a range of features along with the newly announced mobile shopping option, including exclusive offers and fuel savings vouchers through the My Specials section, the ability to create, edit, and save shopping lists that can be shared with other App users, a product finder, and a weekly catalogue.
Online shopping is a standard part of internet usage for most people, and mobile shopping, particularly on smartphones, is a growing industry. Paypal – an online transaction business – reported a 25% increase per month of people shopping on their smartphones in 2010. Woolworths have allowed online shopping on their website for access through computers for some time and reported a 63% growth in online sales during the 2011 financial year. Their avoid-the-stores online ordering and delivery approach has the ability to service 90% of the Australian population.
The modification to the Woolworths App is a response to customer feedback, the Woolworths Director of Supermarkets Tjeerd Jegen said.
"Customers want options about how and when they do their fresh food and grocery shopping. Woolworths understands this and we are the first supermarket in the country to offer customers a tailored, practical, and easy to use solution to suit their lifestyle and individual shopping needs," Jegen said, adding that "the most common piece of customer feedback we received was – when can I shop online from my phone? We've listened to that feedback and worked quickly to make this a reality for our customers."
The Woolworths App is available online, both through the Apple App store and the Android Market.
If you want to avoid the queues and get in on the smartphone app action, have a look at some of the plans available for some of Australia's favourite smartphones: the Apple iPhone 4S 64GB, the Apple iPhone 3GS 8GB, or, to try something different, the brand new HTC Velocity 4G.
To talk about new plans for your current phone, or if you're wondering how to sign up for a plan that will include a new phone, give us a call on 1300 850 518.