In a unique and new concept that is as important for today’s corporate landlords as it is for the country’s smaller creative retailers, We are EGG combines retail and e-commerce for a new generation of customer. The idea is to deliver an all-inclusive entertainment, locally sourced, learning and lifestyle fulfilment experience from a trip to the “mall”.
Many small retailers cannot afford to have a shop in a big mall, and even when they are able to, they find the process incredibly daunting, with complex contracts, tons of rules and plenty of guidelines relating to ‘look and feel’. We are EGG launched to turn this principle upside down, delivering an omnichannel retail offering that includes both online and an in-store app.
According to Craig Duggan, Commercial Head at Transaction Junction, We are EGG is so named as it represents incubation, creativity and collaboration. He points out that the concept aims to represent small, medium, and micro enterprises, with the first outlet in Cavendish Square, Cape Town, home to some 240 emerging local brands.
“We are EGG is a carefully curated destination offering something for everyone, thanks to its
multi-brand, omnichannel retail concept that offers an experiential journey. Clearly, a concept like this requires an equally unique and effective payment platform to augment the retail experience. Our role is to leverage the latest technologies and provide a solution for a diverse set of merchants, retailers and individuals,” says Duggan.
“Remember that if a customer’s payment experience at the end of their shopping trip is less pleasant than the retail experience, it sours the entire process. Therefore, our goal is to make the payment experience as good as the retail one – and We are EGG had over 7 000 customers within the first two days of its opening.”
He explains that within the store, there are some 37 till points, and Transaction Junction provides a solution that is secure, offers multiple capabilities and ensures that the retailers get paid.
“Our initial point-of-sale (PoS) implementation allows shoppers to pay by card, including contactless payments. The next step will be to implement Masterpass, which will allow customers to use their mobile devices to make payments as well.”
“We Are Egg appointed Thinnpro, a distributor of Erply point of sale, the cloud based PoS solution selected. Thinnpro partnered with Transaction Junction as the preferred integrated payments provider,” says Dylan Malan, Business Development Manager at ThinnPro.
“We chose Transaction Junction for their proven track record and willingness to engage directly with our software partners. The project timelines required tried and tested systems and their development experience in integrations is invaluable to rolling out an intuitive and robust payment system for We are EGG. This was further backed up by great communication that helped bring together the banking relationships, software integration, on-site installations and even post launch support.”
Concludes Duggan, “Our part in this project forms an important part of the complete offering and our experience with We are EGG has been wonderful. We look forward to engaging with them further as they progress this unique concept throughout the country.”
