High-tech e-commerce platform ENJOY is going live
High-tech e-commerce company ENJOY – headed by former Apple retail head and JC Penney CEO, Ron Johnson – has launched in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. The company claims that is “the world’s first Personal Commerce platform” – one that is “built to revolutionize the way people buy and enjoy the world’s best technology products”.
The key point, the company claims, is that it does not just use couriers to deliver boxes of equipment. Instead, ENJOY employs “highly trained experts” who will not only deliver and install the products, but also offer help and advice.
“ENJOY was founded on the simple premise that people need help and we believe that a human connection is the best way to help them,” explained Johnson.
“ENJOY Experts will hand deliver technology products to customers at a place and time of their choosing, and spend an hour helping them get up and running.
“The ENJOY Visit is offered free with every purchase made on GoEnjoy.com. In order to also help people get the most out of a technology product they already own, a customizable, paid ENJOY Visit is available for $99.”
The ENJOY Experts are all salaried employees of ENJOY, with full benefits and equity in the company, but they are “given the freedom to work according to a schedule that fits their needs”.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (6 May), ENJOY said that it has already made partnership arrangements with a number of key brands, including AT&T, Boosted, DJI, GoPro, HP, Lenovo, Sonos, and Specialized Bicycle.
Each product is offered with its own customised experience, “designed by the partner company and delivered by the ENJOY Expert”. For example, when someone buys a GoPro, the ENJOY Expert “will hand deliver the product, unbox the GoPro and then help the customer create, edit and share their first movie”.
AT&T will be the first company to integrate ENJOY into its online shopping experience and offer the ENJOY service to its customers directly from ATT.com.
Beginning Tuesday next week (19 May), customers in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City will be able to select ENJOY as a free service included with the purchase of select eligible new smartphones, or smartphone and tablet bundles at ATT.com.
After checking out, ENJOY will contact the customer to schedule their delivery and visit with an ENJOY Expert at a time and place of the customer’s choosing.
“Smartphones have become the centre of the way most of us communicate, share and even purchase,” said Brian Shay, president of Sales and Distribution, AT&T Mobility. “Through ENJOY we’re now enabling for our customers to purchase a smartphone online with expert help and delivery in a very simple, personal way.”
Johnson summed up why he believed that his company’s business model could carve a new niche between the traditional retail store and e-commerce markets: “Stores offer choice, e-commerce offers convenience, and the hallmark of Personal Commerce is an unmatched personal experience.”
Johnson and his team secured about $30 million in venture capital to set up ENJOY.
In his role as vice president of retail operations at Apple, Johnson was credited by the New York Times as leading a team which turned “the boring computer sales floor into a sleek playroom filled with gadgets”. He also made the “playroom” hugely profitable: in 2011 Apple was ranked number one among US retailers in terms of sales per unit area. The worldwide growth of Apple’s retail stores was also phenomenal –with more than 400 outlets established by 2012.
Johnson’s time as CEO at JC Penny was less successful. He joined the company in November 2011 but left in April 2013 after poor fourth quarter 2012 results. Nevertheless, his record at Apple and Target still marks him out as an innovative retailer.
