An online marketplace launching in early October aims to help small retailers thrive and compete with the big guys in an increasingly digital world.
Targeted at the $50 billion Australian furnishing and fit out market – which incorporates more than 40,000 retailers – Sawce.com.au is bringing retailers and their products to more than two million potential individual and commerce buyers across home, commercial and office spaces in Australia alone.
The marketplace will offer millions of products across tens of thousands of retailers automatically indexed into a single site, providing a seamless buying experience.
Sawce was founded by technology entrepreneurs specifically to help small and medium retailers reach a broader customer base.
Sawce CEO Joseph Bruzzaniti said one of the company’s key goals was to empower smaller retailers to succeed in the new digital economy.
“Sawce helps retailers increase sales and profit at no risk by eliminating upfront costs, advertising costs and subscription fees, and relying only on commission on sales generated.”
Bruzzaniti added that Sawce also ensures buyers deal directly with the retailers, who receive 100% payment from the customer.
Retailers operate their own individual showroom on Sawce with no upfront costs or ongoing fees. Their products and services are automatically indexed into the Sawce search engine for buyers to search and purchase from the widest possible range in Australia.
Sawce helps smaller retailers tackle challenges specific to the furnishing and fit out marketplace, which often deals with higher value products, as well as bulky and custom products.
Sawce enables retailers to define their products and brings buyers and sellers together to interact through the platform, giving customers more information and opportunity for tailored solutions. The platform also uses geo-matching to optimise matching between buyers and retailers.
A two-year pilot program achieved $2.9 million network sales for retailers, gross margins over 90% and 30,000 online users – all with no advertising spend.