REPORT beaucoup plus les nouveaux outils technologiques que les générations précédentes . »
Si Espace Maison a réalisé un grand pas en avant avec une opération d ’ une telle envergure , Benoit Bechard reste conscient que s ’ aventurer dans le monde virtuel nécessite un travail continu , essentiellement pour ne pas se faire distancer par l ’ évolution ultra-rapide de ce monde en pleine effervescence .
« C ’ est incroyable tout ce qui s ’ est passé ces dernières années au niveau des nouvelles technologiques , des choses inimaginables il y a 15 ou 20
Espace Maison ’ s digital revolution
Two years of work came to fruition on 15 August 2018 when the Mauritian home and garden heavyweight officially launched its new digital platforms . Mobile application , e-commerce , Cloud Computing-based sales platform synchronization , optimal userfriendliness … make way for Espace Maison 3.0 !
Just like everywhere else on the planet , businesses in Mauritius have started to jump on the digital bandwagon . With no shortage of IT talent on the island , companies have begun to pursue digital ambitions in order to facilitate transactions and customer contact . And Espace Maison , famous home and garden chain store , has now become one of the most worthy members of this new « digital league » of local businesses .
Indeed , the Group officially rolled out this month its new digital services , a company-wide operation of some magnitude . On the agenda : the launch of a brand new easy-to-use mobile application and e-commerce site , complemented by a delivery service covering the whole island . « We had had a mobile application for some time , but it was pretty basic , says Benoît Béchard , Espace Maison General Manager . The new application will be much more complete and interesting for the customer .»
With no less than 8,000 products available through Espace Maison ’ s digital services ( application and website ), regulars will no longer have to go to the store to find what they need . « As of today , our digital services are on par with those of the best Mauritian companies in the field . This makes life so much easier for the customer who can now make online searches and purchases for pickup at the store , order products and get them delivered wherever he is , and even automatically collect reward points based on purchases ,» adds Benoît Béchard .
The online store and mobile application are managed by the same operating system and contain a huge database , which simplifies navigation and allows the optimum coordination of each platform . It took ans ... Qui sait ce que nous réserve le futur ? Mais une chose est sûre : Espace Maison est déterminé a se maintenir au niveau , car nous espérons de grandes choses de nos nouvelles plateformes de Smart Commerce . C ’ est tout simplement l ’ avenir ».
no less than two years of dedication to achieve this result says our interlocutor , but the work does not stop there : « we hope to soon be able to increase the number of products offered on our e-commerce platforms - although I prefer the term Smart Commerce in our case - from 8,000 to between 13,000 and 15,000 .»
Why the preferred terminology ? Simply because the new digital Espace Maison is a pure product of Cloud Computing , this new technological paradigm that helps manage data on different media devices ( tablets , smartphones , computers ...) and digital platforms , and coordinate them according to user needs . This means that the customer can access Espace Maison digital services at any time , wherever he is and carry out transactions in a simple , practical and user-friendly manner . But are Mauritian customers ready for such technologies ?
« It is true that digital commerce is still at its infancy stage in Mauritius , but things are moving extremely fast in the world of new technologies , confides the General Manager . This operation is a short- , medium- and long term- investment , all in one . We are thinking above all about the Millennials , our customers of tomorrow , who are less likely to visit stores if they are not certain of finding what they are looking for , and have a much better grasp of new technological tools than previous generations .»
Even though Espace Maison has taken a big step forward with such a large-scale operation , Benoît Béchard does not lose sight of the fact that venturing into the virtual world requires unrelenting focus , essentially if you do not want to be left behind by the ultra-rapid evolution of this world in full swing .
« What has happened in recent years in terms of new technologies is amazing … things that were simply inconceivable 15 or 20 years ago … Who knows what is next ? But one thing is certain : Espace Maison is committed to keeping the pace and we are expecting great things from our new Smart Commerce platforms . This is simply the future .»
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