The country needs to increase internet penetration to gain maximum advantage of the e-commerce platform. The internet penetration in SriLanka at present is around 30 per cent, co-founder and CEO Takas (Pvt) Ltd., Lahiru Pathmalal said.
With plans to increase the appetite for e-commerce transactions in the country, Sri Lanka’s trusted and innovative e-commerce platform, Takas.lk, launched its flagship store, to enable its customers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience that encompasses online, mobile and brick-and-mortar options.
“In keeping with the technological advancements, we at Takas.lk redesigned our service offering, and launched this new store. This will help support our customers, especially the technology savvy young generation in meeting their requirements,” he said.
“Less than 2 per cent of the Sri Lankan consumers engage in online purchasing. The current e- commerce market in Sri Lanka is US $ 40 million. This market turnover is expected to grow to become a Billion dollar e- commerce industry by 2021,” Pathmalal said.
“Takas.lk, being the largest pure play e-commerce site in Sri Lanka, is excited to explore the omni-channel experience and its many potential benefits. We feel the store concept will aid in online consumers being confident in terms of online buying, so the trust element will definitely increase,” he said. Located in the heart of Colombo, on Galle Road, Bamabalapitya, this store is a first for Takas.lk, marking its shift to an omni-channel, or multi-channel, sales approach that will undoubtedly provide even more convenience and benefits for its customers.
“The omni-channel experience has been a huge success in India. And we have been looking and learning from India for some time, and when possible we have adapted and deployed innovations we think will work in Sri Lanka. We did this with cash on delivery, which has proven to be a great success for Takas.lk,” Pathmalal said.
Following the launch of the store, Takas.lk plans to roll out similar stores in all major towns across Sri Lanka.
“Around 6% of the revenue for Takas.lk currently comes from Moneragala, and we also do really well in Gampaha and in other key local markets. Really any town has the potential to be very successful so we are looking at all locations,” he said.
Set up in 2012 by Pathmalal, Co-founder and COO Murtaza Moosajee and Co-founder Dilendra Wimalasekara, Takas.lk quickly distinguished itself as Sri Lanka’s largest online shopping mall.
Known for its many local firsts, such as being the first to introduce ‘Cash On Delivery’ and even tokenised Credit Card (one-click) payment options, Takas.lk delivers over 13,000 high quality products, ranging from electronics to furniture, across its omni-channel platforms.
Takas.lk is widely regarded as an innovative company. In 2018, the Takas eCommerce Solutions (TES) arm of Takas (Pvt) Ltd was also introduced, to help other e-commerce and logistics companies automate.
Source: http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2018/12/23/business/takaslk-expands-flagship-store-colombo