Coles tackles Woolworths' online dominance with major new perk

Coles wants you to shop from home. Image: Getty

Coles’ partnership with eBay has hit its “next phase”, with the online marketplace removing two major pain-points for online shoppers.

Coles and eBay partnered in March this year in a bid to tackle Woolworths’ online grocery dominance, offering products for the same price on eBay as they were in Coles’ bricks and mortar stores.

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Shoppers were also offered free delivery on orders over $49, provided they had subscribed to eBay’s membership program, eBay Plus, which costs $49 a year.

But that fee has also been effectively waived, with Coles and eBay today announcing shoppers will receive $49 off their first shop when they sign up to eBay Plus, provided this grocery shop is at least $99.

Additionally, shoppers will receive 5 per cent off every Coles on eBay shop under the “next phase”, and shoppers will also be able to select a time frame for products to be delivered.

“We know convenience and health are a priority, with Coles customers increasingly seeking to reclaim their time, with minimum compromise on freshness, quality, and flavour,” Coles Online chief executive Alister Jordan said.

“By enhancing our partnership with eBay, we are enabling anytime, anywhere shopping, providing our customers another convenient way to access our products and have them delivered straight to their door at a time that works for them.”

eBay’s senior director of business-to-consumer Kristian Haigh said Australian shoppers prefer to do their shopping after work, with Tuesday at 9pm the most popular time.

And, Australian shoppers are buying bulk-sized essentials like coffee and rice, nappies and soft drinks the most.

Coles on eBay is available in metropolitan Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, with Coles weekly half-price deals available, as well as its national in-store price guarantee.

It comes as Coles and Woolworths try to find new ways to bring time- and money-poor customers in through their doors, with Coles introducing bulk-sized products to appeal to the budget conscious, and Woolworths trialling scan-and-go tech to cut out the need for hungry shoppers to wait in long queues at the check-out.

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