A to Z of shopping websites for the Irish tech consumer
From a slow start, Irish electronics retailers are beginning to embrace the internet as a place to do business.
Here is a guide to some of the main players in the market.
Buytech.ie: huge Kildare-based online shop covering thousands of consumer electronics items, from cameras to laptops to MP3 players
Click.ie: shop with a small range of goods
Did.ie: DID Electrical’s online store
Elara.ie: one of the biggest Irish tech websites that specialises in computer hardware
Familycomputers.ie: a small website set up by the Irish Credit Union movement and the Home Computing Initiative to offer computers at cheap finance rates
Giftfinder.ie: a giftstore website with a gadgets section
Greatoutdoors.ie: although this Dublin-based company concentrates on hiking, climbing and boating, it has a nice range of outdoors gadgets
IrishLCD.ie: a website with a large range of televisions and other home electronics items
Komplett.ie: although Norwegian in origin, this computer components specialist has an Irish base of operations and local shopping depot
Meteor.ie: the webstore of the national mobile phone operator
Microaid.ie: the Swords-based online store specialises in computer peripherals but also sells a large range of consumer electronics
Mysatnav.ie: this web-only store specialises in Garmin and TomTom sat-nav devices
O2online.ie: the webstore of the national mobile phone operator
Peats.com: the webstore of the national electronics chain Pixels.ie: the camera chain’s online store
Powercity.ie: the online store of the national retail chain
Three.ie: the webstore of the national mobile phone operator
Vodafone.ie: the webstore of the national mobile phone operator
Could do better
The following are big tech retailers with weak websites:
There’s one good reason that Harvey Norman’s radio and television ads are so raucous and loud: you need to remember what the offers are, because you certainly won’t glean much from its weak, PDF-based website. It has a fraction of the chain’s inventory listed online.
It is baffling how one of Britain’s most powerful tech retail chains still refuses to have any meaningful web presence for the Irish market, despite very comprehensive online stores serving the British market. If Peats, Power City and DID Electrical can do it, why can’t PC World and Currys (both part of the same trading group)?
Argos.ie/Smyths.ie /Xtravision.ie
It may seem a little harsh to include Argos, Xtravision and Smyths in the bold boys’ corner, as they all give a pretty comprehensive inventory list, including prices.
Argos and Smyths also let you ‘reserve’ items in a particular store. Still, this really isn’t the same as a webstore, and with all the resources put into these sites, it wouldn’t have taken too much more to offer the goods for delivery.
