Dixons casts its net at online consumers

Retail giant to offer alternative to walk-in stores with launch of online shopping service as part of company?s Web site

High street giant Dixons Stores Group is to make a late entry into online shopping, joining the throng of computer retailers which already offer the service.

The site is being tested at the moment and is expected to be officially launched within the next few weeks, according to a company representative. It offers 10 different sections of consumer electronic goods including one devoted to computers.

The computer section has eight segments, including PCs, peripherals, accessories ? such as joysticks ? printers, notebooks, word processors, software and calculators. Software has a separate section divided into business, drawing and design, education, systems and games. There is another section for games hardware and software.

Prices for shopping online are the same as in a walk-in store, and payment can be made via credit card or store card. There is a delivery charge and orders will be fulfilled by Dixons Direct.

Meanwhile, mail-order company and retailer Software Warehouse has announced the first site in the UK to offer downloading of software. The site will be launched on 8 November and will offer discounts of up to 25 per cent less than RRP. It will complement its already sizeable Web site, which offers its full range of hardware and software for sale along with corporate information.

Julian Bennett, e-commerce manager at Software Warehouse, said: ?It will contain any program of 15Mb or less that the publisher is willing to release.?

The site has won backing from Lotus and 21 other publishers. Customers download an encrypted version of the software and only receive the other half of the key to unlock it when their credit card payment has been cleared.

Bennett claimed similar sites in the US, France and Sweden have been very successful, but would not predict a turnover for the site because it is such a different concept.