Hard work, self-confidence and focus are important factors in the successful launch of an online product, as demonstrated by the winner of the Best eCommerce Site (B2C) category of the eBusiness Awards organised by the Malta Communications Authority in 2013.

 

The aims of the Awards are to encourage new ideas and best practise in the field of eBusiness, one of the pillars of the Maltese digital economy. 

 

Dealtoday.com.mt won the Best eCommerce Site category in the last edition of the Awards.  It is an eCommerce platform that connects merchants to consumers by offering discounted products and services to the Maltese market.  The site consists of such offers as discounts at restaurants, massages, spas, hotels, training courses, events, and more. The website sends out a list of daily deals to its subscribers by e-mail and enables its users to access the deals both through the website and mobile applications.  

 

Michael Steen Pedersen, director at Good Morning Malta Ltd, the operators of the website, wasn’t surprised at all when he heard the name of his website mentioned at the Awards ceremony as winner of the category: “I expected us to win! I personally think we had the best eCommerce website and still have in Malta.  I think we won because our concept was new and the fact that we have a complete platform with a fresh looking front end and a competent back end.”

 

What makes dealtoday.com.mt the “best” eCommerce website? According to the owners, the solution is innovative in the sense that it’s the most transparent and easiest way for an end user to get large discounts on different sought-after experiences such as dining, hotels, travels, and wellness. Every day the website features a new deal in the top of the landing page. Underneath the user find all active deals and can also choose deals by category.  

 

The objective is basically to expose as many offers to as many people as possible. The most valued component is the subscribers who receive a newsletter outlining these offers on a daily basis. The website also has several partnerships with local media and exploits Facebook to maintain existing customers and reach new ones.

 

The website uses secure features such as HTTPS to ensure a safe connection between its servers and end users. Further more the website doesn’t store the end user’s credit card information. There is also a SPS (security payment scheme) protocol that makes it possible for the merchant to check voucher validity. This SPS protocol detects and disables any fraud from incoming vouchers. The merchant can even scan vouchers or virtual vouchers that customers display directly from their smart phone.

 

Mr Pedersen has the following advice to whoever is interested in launching a successful online product or service and maybe submit to the MCA eBusiness Awards:  “You need to have a focused concept that's easy to understand for the end user. This has to be followed-up by fully tested user-friendly software. Hard work always helps as well.”

 

The Best eCommerce Site (B2C) is one of the categories in this year’s MCA eBusiness Awards which have just been announced. More details at www.mca.org.mt/ebiz-awards