Payday loan and pawnbroking company Cash Converters says it is is starting to see its online retail business take off.
The company, which today reported its full-year results for 2011 to the London Stock Exchange, said ecommerce sales of secondhand products, traded in for cash at its stores, were now starting to reach “commercial quantities,” making sales worth some $2.1m (£1.27m) in sales in 2011. Cash Converters runs the webshop online service on behalf of its franchisees, who pay it commission. The company also said the site was acting as an effective marketing tool. “We have seen new customers visit stores and purchase product after their first contact with the brand commerced with their online search,” it said.
The Cash Converters website, where customers can also apply for payday loans, has 107,296 registered users in the UK and 31,619 in Australia. In its latest financial year it saw 2.1m unique visitors to the UK site and 1.1m to the Australian site.
The update came as Cash Converters, a global network with headquarters in Australia, reported record net profits, rising by 27.5% to $27.6m (£16.7m) in the year to June 30 2011, while revenues rose by 47.6% to $186.1m (£112.6m).
