Digital retailer Very has launched two new offerings to its ecommerce platform, as the company invests close to €1 million in a new app and is also launching a new interest-free instalment payment plan for customers.
Very Ireland, which rebranded from Littlewoods Ireland in 2022, has launched its first mobile app, which managing director Rossa Butler says is aimed at delivering more targeted, curated content for their customers.
“We believe that this is the best customer experience that we can offer them. It’s already available on the Android store and the Apple store and we’re getting some really great feedback so far,” he said.
Between a €300,000 investment in the buildout and a multiple of that spent on marketing between the current financial year to June and next year, Very has spent close to €1 million on the app.
The great Guinness shortage has lessons for Diageo
Ireland has won the corporation tax game for now, but will that last?
Corkman leading €11bn development of Battersea Power Station in London: ‘We’ve created a place to live, work and play’
Elf doors, carriage rides and boat cruises: Christmas in Ireland’s five-star hotels
Mr Butler said Very is targeting double-digit growth in new customers, as well as getting as many existing customers as possible to migrate from shopping on its website to using the app.
Why did Bank of Ireland shares plummet despite record profits?
As part of the retailer’s multiyear tech investment programme, it plans to add features to the app in the next year, including augmented-reality technology which will allow customers to test out everything from lipstick shades to how a couch might fit in their livingroom.
Very has also launched a new payment plan offering, Take 3, which is available to all credit account holders and allows them to pay for qualifying transactions over three months, with no interest.
This is in addition to existing flexible payment options to buy now, pay later (which is available to customers after six months of trading with Very) and spread the cost (which offers instalment payments subject to interest).
Mr Butler said flexible payment options are a “key part” of Very’s business proposition, as its target market is Irish families who may be trying to manage household budgets.
He said the interest-free option was aimed at boosting sales amid a cost-of-living crisis that is putting pressure on consumers and businesses.
“Given the market and the cost of living, we feel it’s a really important time to bring out a product like this,” he said.
Mr Butler said Very has performed “resiliently” in its current financial year, in particular seeing growth of 11.3 per cent on Black Friday compared with a year previously.
“At that key trading period we’ve performed really well, but it hasn’t been like that across the entire year,” he said, noting that it is a “challenging market for absolutely everyone”.
“It’s difficult, and this is why it’s important for retailers to continue to invest in their proposition. Our job is to give [customers] the most attractive proposition and to continue investing in that. That’s why we’re so excited about these two initiatives,” he said.
Very delivers more than 1.3 million parcels to customers in Ireland annually, with more than 70,000 products and 1,800 brands available across fashion, home, electrical and beauty.
- Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
