If you’re a pharmacy or veterinary practice and you’ve always wanted to run an online store, we’re going to talk today about how it might be a lot easier than you think…
We’re excited to announce that POLi has recently teamed up with the fantastic Kiwi online shop builder Storbie, which specialises in building e-commerce ready stores for pharmacy and veterinary practices.
Whether you’re an existing Storbie user or not, this partnership could supercharge your online store.
What this team-up means for Storbie users
Thanks to this new partnership, POLi now comes pre-integrated into Storbie’s online shop building platform, allowing all Storbie users to gain instant access to our direct online payments solution.
By switching on POLi as an option in your store (and signing up to a POLi account if you haven’t already), you’ll be able to offer customers the ability to pay for goods not just with their credit or debit card, but their regular online bank account.
Hundreds of major brands around New Zealand already use POLi. It’s fast, secure, and customers don’t need to go find their credit card number in order to use it. Perfect!
“We wanted to offer as many payment options as possible to our customers,” said one Kiwi pharmacy owner, who asked to remain anonymous. “Initially we were using PayPal, because to use credit card you need quite a high volume to get going. But PayPal is pretty expensive.”
“POLi is a great app. It goes into your account straight away […] and I reckon if we compared average value of sales, POLi would be slightly higher.”
Learn more: Is POLi right for your organisation?
What is Storbie?
Storbie is a specialised online shop builder built right here in Aotearoa, tailored for the complex pharmaceuticals and veterinary practice sectors.
The app makes it easy to set up and operate a simple online store because it handles all of the technical side for you. So even if you know very little about running a website, or you’re just too busy to do it yourself, you can still operate an easy-to-use e-commerce store by building it within Storbie.
The idea is that, through Storbie, you can:
- Create a simple online store with their help.
- Fill it up with pre-populated industry content and customer-ready products.
- Build better business resilience by diversifying your revenue to include in-store and online purchases.
Storbie works with your suppliers too
One of the hardest parts about running an online store in the pharmacy or vet space is that the products keep changing – new packaging, new ingredients, new releases … the list goes on!
To help make this easier for business owners, Storbie has built relationships with suppliers too. Manufacturers and distributors can access a web portal at their end and update their own products, automatically updating them on your website too.
Learn more: 10 reasons your pharmacy should sell online
Why is it important to offer a choice of payment types?
It’s common to think, “Everyone has a credit or debit card, so why offer anything else?”
Well, the reality is, that’s not actually true!
While it is true that a great many Kiwis own a credit/debit card, there are plenty who’ve never picked one up at all. Then there’s the Kiwis who have one but can’t remember the number (and don’t want to go and find the card), and who don’t want to pay any extra fees for using their card.
In fact:
- 49% of Gen Z’ers have never owned a credit card.1
- About half of Kiwis wish sending online payments was quicker.2
- One third of NZ respondents already use direct online payment options like POLi.2
1Laybuy, 2019
2Yabble Payments NZ Consumer Study 2020
By offering not just card payments but also POLi, you give customers the chance to choose the option they prefer.
Learn more about online payments: