Harvey Norman online store goes live

It’s been a long time coming, but Gerry Harvey has bowed to the inevitable and pushed the Go Harvey Go button on the Harvey Norman online store today. Why is this such a big deal?
For multichannel retail in Australia, there is no more significant moment than this. Arguably this nation’s staunchest opponent of online retail, the billionaire’s tune has changed in the face of  increasing competition from local and international online retailers, including Dick Smith, Bing Lee and OHKI who carve into Harvey Norman’s market share by offering online shopping.

Built using the Magento e-commerce platform, the site features a broad range of product available for purchase online. Features include Endeca-powered site search and merchandising, customer ratings and reviews, multiple product shots and an optimised shopping cart. Originally slated for a May 2011 launch, the go-live date has continued to be pushed back, largely due to the complexity of the integration points required to turn Harvey Norman’s fragmented store model into one capable of efficient online order fulfilment. The new site goes live today to capitalise on pre-Christmas spend.