The second largest operator in the Republic of Croatia, A1 Croatia (Hrvatska), has now launched a new service after only two weeks of having tested it, the fastest ever. And it's already bringing in visible results.
As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of October, 2019, at a time when classic stores are gradually being transformed digitally by being closed down and being replaced by online and mobile stores, turning into cafes and lounge bars, or expanding their offer indefinitely, an alternative has emerged. A1 Croatia officially unveiled the very first A1 Virtual Shop on Tuesday.
The new store is a mix of a physical store, telesales, and an online store. There is something for everyone, and it does not fall into any of these categories alone. In other words, many elements have already been seen before, or should not be classed as some sort of "major" innovation. However, the A1 Virtual Shop is the first service ever officially launched by this telecom after only two weeks of testing.
Ivana Marković, managing director for the A1 Croatia private customers segment, says they did not expect that A1 Croatia's new service would have such an impact on the market.
"For the last two weeks, we've been quietly testing it through our website, so we just opened the possibility, we didn't tell anyone about it, and users have accepted this service so much that this shop already has a sales result at the level of our smaller point of sale,'' explained Marković.
She noted that the effect of the A1 Virtual Shop is comparable to as much as half the traffic generated by the average A1 Centre, which is what an A1 Croatia retail outlet such as the one located on Gajeva street in the very centre of Zagreb boasts. Ivan Skender of business transformation, human resources and corporate communications for A1 Croatia says that something similar was offered a year ago by a bank.
The bank in question is Addiko Bank. The service consists of the possibility that you can sort something out that you'd usually need to go into branch for via video call, and a very similar thing is now offered by A1 Croatia.
However, the operator has made one small but important change for the users. The seller doesn't actually see the buyer in their new virtual store.
"We've allowed the buyer to be able to see the seller, that he can show them everything in the store that is the same as in any of our outlets, and that they can talk to them, but the seller on the other hand can't see the user, but only hears them, and that proved crucial,'' explained Skender.
He revealed the fact that they made the first store of its kind in a sort of movie studio on Hondlova street in Zagreb, and that they currently have three sellers working weekdays from 10:00 to 22:00.
"Due to demand, we'll triple our capacity, probably extend our working hours and introduce other innovations, and it's possible that this may become a model for the transformation of our shopping centres, since this could potentially increase their efficiency," Skender concluded.
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