Ask Raru founder Neil Smith anything about eCommerce

[dizz16]

Would you ever consider to allow drop shipping for Raru users?

 

[Bl1ndr34p3r]

Hi Neil,

What are some of the logistical and "last mile" delivery challenges that e-commerce companies in South Africa face regarding shipments of physical products, track and trace and warehousing? Will there ever be an ecosystem in South Africa that makes shipping products more cost efficient?

Thank you

 

[v3rt1g0]

As I often rely on US and UK imports when you guys do not stock the items I want locally, I find it difficult to now get all the items I want via Raru as I did in the past.

Why were UK imports removed and will they be added back anytime soon?

 

[v3rt1g0]

I've been shopping with you guys since 2016 after not having found an item I wanted on Takealot and stumbling upon your product page by accident. I was skeptical at first but took a chance on it and went ahead to a successful outcome.

Do you plan on more wide-spread advertising in the future to reach your target market and can we expect TV ads perhaps?

 

[v3rt1g0]

When looking for an item not stocked locally, I sometimes come across it on your site under the standard category pages (i.e. 'Movies & TV') at a very good price (considering it is being imported from your end) but alternatively I have to look at the 'Imports' section which tends to have items at much higher prices than the equivalent item in the standard category pages. This occasionally leads me to importing via Amazon US/UK as the total + shipping is lower than your import listing.

Also, if I wish to buy many import items at once it becomes unfeasible to use Raru as the 'import' shipping is added to each item's listing price already in the background and we see 'one' listing price so it causes a much higher total as opposed to purchasing each item on Amazon in one order and then adding import shipping to the total.

Will you be able to consider improving the importing side of using your site to allow customers better imports pricing and an easier experience?

 

[v3rt1g0]

Will you be able to incorporate some form of loyalty rewards for people who frequently use your site and tell others about it (as Loot, for example, has referral vouchers which are sent to the referrer once the person who was referred makes their first order; and Takealot occasionally having voucher codes for getting an x amount off of a y total amount)?

 

[v3rt1g0]

Could you consider disabling user ratings and reviews for items which have not been released yet (i.e. pre-order items)?

I have come across many item pages in the past where an item which was not available/released at the time had received very negative reviews or very positive reviews without users having actually received any item to review.

Here is a current example where the item has 8 5-star reviews whereas no general member of the public across the world has even received the item yet.

 

[Pateet]

Where did you get the name Raru from and what does it mean?

 

[v3rt1g0]

Despite all of the cool 'Merch' on your site do you intend on expanding Raru to sell clothing at some point in the future?

 

[Abbath]

What Were Your Greatest Failures and What Did They Teach You?

 

[ling_c]

There has been a rise in data breaches on large databases lately. How confident are you that your systems would withstand such attacks?

 

[Pixelbender]

How did trust trip you up in the beginning in either or both ventures?

 

[Genwireless]

CMS BEST for eCommerce Websites

Which Custom Management System (CMS) application is best for eCommerce Drupal , Wordpress and Joomla , and Why

 

[liam.cn]

Do you think the growth of ecommerce will be big enough in South Africa to impact everyone and make it accessible for everyone?

 

[Hamster]

Who do you perceive as your biggest competition, if not Takealot?

 

[Hamster]

Are you guys wary of the likes of Makro/Wallmart taking eCommerce seriously in SA?

 

[Hamster]

What does your tech stack look like?

 

[Hamster]

Are you prepared for Black Friday?

 

[Solitude]

Are you worried that Amazon will come to South Africa or are you secretly hoping that they would buy Raru when they do?

 

[ABCpt]

How do you think can ecommerce sites improve to keep customers? Some sites give discount for new customers, but forget about rewarding loyal customers and on the prices loose them.