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Online shopping is all the rage these days and TCS has decided to give it a go by launching TCS Connect, to take your online shopping experience to next level.
TCS Connect is an online shopping portal that has a wide variety of products with different payment options and delivery all over Pakistan.
TCS has been a trusted name in logistics and supply chain industry of Pakistan for well over two decades and this is a clever move on their part since quite a few people are still hesitant about buying expensive stuff online (yes I’m talking about our parent’s generation).
TCS Connect will sure help the hesitance go away from those minds that were earlier reluctant to buy goods from online stores. Their country wide delivery network will flare up the ease by simplifying the online shopping process and experience.
Talking about the layout and design of the website, it is functional and easy on the eyes. The shop offers an extensive catalogue for the buyer with categories including mobiles, lifestyle and books with other categories to be populated soon.
Of course with a new launch you need some incentive for the potential buyer to choose you instead of the competition and TCS does that by offering deals on selected products that include a redeem on next purchase, free insurance for a selected period, a percentage value of product cash back and free delivery all over Pakistan.
TCS claims that the products on sale are authentic and come from official suppliers and manufacturers themselves. In this scenario, prices below the market level aren’t really possible since all TCS is doing is validating the identity of the official vendors.
TCS Connect provides extensive payment options with credit card payment, cash collection at banks, Netbanking and EasyPaisa/Omni being available. You don’t have to be online to buy anything as well. You can get information about offline orders from the Call Center or any TCS Express Center.
Currently TCS Connect only ships within Pakistan but orders can be placed from anywhere in the world. Orders can be tracked online so you can know exactly when you’ll get the product instead of vague estimates.
All in all it’s a good venture by TCS though they are a little bit late to the party since many shops have already built up solid reputation and are trusted by consumers. However I do not think it is a project doomed to the waste bin simply because of the brand recognition TCS has.
I don’t see it challenging other online shops for market share but it definitely has potential to grow and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it evolve into more of a gift shop backed by authentic products and on time delivery in future even if its performance as a pure e-marketplace isn’t stellar.
Just to conclude here, we know from people close to TCS that they are working on payment processing gateway as well. This is in addition to mobile banking solution that TCS is working on. Hence payments through their own branchless banking will be an option too, just in few months.
Here are the links to TCS Connect:
