Shopping in virtual malls is gaining in importance

pte20080116002 Media/Communication, Trade/Services

Tradoria wants to unite online shops on one portal

Tradoria combines online shops into a virtual shopping center (photo: tradoria.de)

Munich/Bamberg (pte002/16.01.2008/06:00) – After the end of the 2007 financial year, retailers were able to report particularly successful figures for online shopping in Germany. In addition to individual web shops, virtual shopping malls are becoming increasingly important. An example of such an online shop community is the Bamberg company Tradoria http://www.tradoria.de . The concept of the platform: Retailers should be able to open a web shop under their own domain at low cost and without great technical effort. The connection of individual shops to a common virtual shopping mall also creates additional added value for retailers.

“The goal of Tradoria is to build a virtual shopping center with different shops,” explains Portal founder Tobias Kobier in an interview with press release. Individual traders should be given the opportunity on the platform to join forces to form a community. “The connection of the individual online shops to an entire shopping mall on our portal has the decisive advantage that they are easier for customers to find on the net,” says Kobier. In particular, smaller traders, who are usually difficult to find, would benefit from such a merger.

So far, the technical implementation of one’s own online shop has sometimes been difficult. “The creation of a webshop sometimes requires a high level of technical know-how,” explains Kobier. In many cases, however, such technical knowledge is not available at the dealers, which in turn leads to the fact that they often have to “rent” a shop via an external provider. Especially for smaller traders, such a situation is problematic from a financial point of view. “The costs incurred are a major factor here. We deliver turnkey – retailers only need product images, product descriptions and prices,” Kobier describes. In just a few days, such an online shop could be created on the net.

For Tradoria customers, the creation of their own online store is free of charge. However, there is an annual lump sum payment of 198 euros. This then includes a number of services. For example, the shops are continuously adapted to the current legal situation and verified terms and conditions are made available to the dealers. But also a free phone-safe support and a forum in which a marketing expert can be asked about specific problems are included. In addition, 8.5 percent of the sales value is estimated for each completed transaction. For this, the portal takes over the processing of all payment transactions, even for the product shipment, only a parcel label has to be printed.

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