Unilever Sri Lanka expands uStore.lk footprint on Viber

Thursday, 13 May 2021 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Unilever Sri Lanka, one of the island’s largest fast-moving consumer goods companies recently announced that it has expanded coverage of its uStore.lk e-commerce service to instant messaging platform Viber.

The service, which had been offered exclusively on Unilever Sri Lanka’s official e-commerce platform www.ustore.lk until now, has been extended to Viber, enabling more consumers the convenience of directly purchasing Unilever branded products from the safety, comfort, and convenience of their homes.

The www.ustore.lk service which was first launched in 2019, has gained significant acceptance by consumers since then as a preferred shopping destination of choice. This manifold increase of consumer traffic is largely attributed to the reason behind the extension of the service to Viber, for consumers to enjoy Unilever products from the comfort of their homes. Here, the uStore.lk bot takes the form of a user-friendly chatbot, inviting customers to explore the store and select from any of Unilever Sri Lanka’s array of products, be it beauty, skincare, baby care, household care, oral care, laundry and food and refreshments.

Consumers can also purchase the company’s Pureit brand from this service. The bot offers attractive discounts and other types of promotions continuously, and more importantly, offers consumers access to the full Unilever Sri Lanka portfolio and selected international Unilever brands.

To avail themselves of the service, consumers need to simply access their Viber mobile application and search for ‘uStore.lk’ to commence enjoying this new shopping experience. Thereafter, it is simply about selecting desired products to a virtual cart and entering a delivery address. Check-out takes place with ease and purchased items are delivered directly to a customer’s doorstep thereafter.

Unilever Sri Lanka Customer Development Director Aruna Mawilmada said, “Even with a direct retail footprint of 100,000, we are constantly on the lookout to pioneer further avenues of island wide consumer convenience and availability for our 300+ products. The importance of sourcing innovative routes to market is further underpinned by the current pandemic that has gripped and challenged the normal routines of our consumers, who critically consider safety of point of purchase.

“We are delighted therefore to offer this new touchpoint over an instant messaging service, along with its many benefits and unique offerings, as we continue to remain relevant to our consumers at all times. We remain committed to our promise of offering compelling innovation, either through our products or services, in the true spirit and heritage of consumer relevance, that has rooted us in Sri Lankan society over the last 83 years.”

Rakuten Viber Senior Director APAC David Tse said, “We continue to look for ways to explore and launch new tech ideas with trusted and highly respected brands, to deliver a seamless and unique shopping experience to our users. Our collaboration with Unilever allows us to connect both online and offline environments to empower our users and suit their needs in a measurable way.”