Kiwi company unlocks the US online market

30 August 2011 For Immediate Release

Kiwi company unlocks the US online market

No more credit card rejections!

Have you ever tried to buy anything online from the USA? It can be very frustrating to say the least. Many US online shops have security policies of not accepting overseas credit cards in an effort to reduce fraud. Fed-up and frustrated with these policies, Eric Lehl decided to create ShopMonkey, a company that helps NZ customers order what they want from US websites, using their own credit cards. “It was just so frustrating trying to shop online from the US. I would find the perfect product or a great bargain and I’d get to the end of the purchase process and they wouldn’t accept my credit card because it didn’t have a US billing address. This happened all the time and I kept thinking - why can’t someone make this easy for me? When I spoke to friends and family they all had the same experience. That’s when it occurred to me that I could make it easier for others, so I created ShopMonkey.”

ShopMonkey allows NZ customers to place an order and receive a quote online. The quote will be for the product and shipping to their address in NZ. Payment is with their NZ credit card. ShopMonkey uses its own financial and logistics service in the USA to facilitate the order.

Global retail sales have been fairly flat for the last few years, however, online sales have increased dramatically and look to further increase over time. The major drivers are increased broadband access and people gaining trust with online purchasing.

Who is the target market for ShopMonkey? Most customers know who they are because they have experienced the frustration first hand. They are usually internet savvy, have made online purchases before, have their own credit cards, are frustrated at being rejected by US online sites and want more choice when it comes to shopping. Mostly though, they want ShopMonkey to just make the process easy for them.

What types of products do people buy from US online shops? Everything! Kiwi’s are buying baby strollers, car parts, clothing, computers, sound systems, toys, snow boards, shoes, sporting goods, watches… everything - the list is endless.

3 Reasons To Use ShopMonkey Now:

1) The New Zealand Dollar is at an all-time high against the USD (good purchasing power)

2) The US seasons are always 6 months different (i.e. their summer stock goes on sale at the end of their summer which is the beginning of our own summer - great bargains always!)

3) Christmas is just around the corner

ENDS

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