Italy, Germany become favourite markets for online shoppers

10 years ago, Express Trailers launched its ShipLowCost.com service to assist local online shoppers have their purchases delivered straight to their door. JOHANN VELLA, Director & Head of General Management & Quality Assurance at Express Trailers recalls the market’s reaction when the service was first launched in 2012 and how the customer base has been growing exponentially year on year ever since.

What has the uptake been like over the past years?

The service was an immediate hit because we were the first to offer a service that appealed directly to online shoppers. We saw a niche because customers were finding items online but then, were limited to what they could order because of size and weight constraints. Today we service thousands of customers every year, some of which have been with us from the very beginning. We even have individuals who started their business from using ShipLowCost.com and today have become successful importers and exporters who keep using our service. This project is a huge achievement for me personally and for the company especially due to the constant positive feedback we receive from our clients.

How does ShipLowCost.com operate?

ShipLowCost.com started off as an import service utilising four main depots on mainland Europe. As the service proved popular, we introduced more depots and today, it is operated through 8 distinct depots namely in Austria, France, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, UK and Sicily thus covering the most sought-after markets in Europe. Customers instruct their suppliers located in these other European countries to send their goods to these depots and from there, our logistics chain brings the goods to Malta where they are sorted and delivered in every corner of Malta and Gozo.

Which are the most popular hubs and what would be the reasons for this?

Most clients have always been very comfortable importing goods from the UK however Brexit changed everything because it made importing goods from the UK more expensive and complicated. Notwithstanding this, we still retained the service for online shoppers who still shop from the UK, but we have noticed users shifting their buying habits. I would say that today, Italy and Germany have become the most popular hubs amongst our clients.

Read the full interview here.

EXPRESS TRAILERS Sr.l.u., as controller of the personal data pursuant art. 13 and 14 of the UE Regulation UE 679/2016 – General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), in compliance with the obligations dictated by the legislator for the protection of privacy, with the present wish to inform you of the use of your personal data and of your rights, communicating the following:

CONTROLLER:

The controller is EXPRESS TRAILERS S.r.l.u., Fiscal Registration 00472780105, with registered office in Via XX Settembre, 5/7 sc. sx – 16121 GENOVA and Operations Office in Via Milano 40C/7 sc. B – 16126 GENOVA

PERSONAL DATA OBJECT OF THE PROCESSING

Non-specific personal data (identification, accounting, financial, etc.).

PURPOSE, LEGAL BASIS AND OBLIGATORY OR OPTIONAL NATURE OF TREATMENT

The source of the data referred to in point b is: Data provided by the interested party.

Main Purpose: CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

Legal basis: the processing is necessary for the execution of a contract of which the interested party is a party or for the execution of pre-contractual measures adopted at the request of the same.

Possible consequences of failure to provide personal details: NON-EXECUTION OF THE CONTRACT

RECIPIENTS

Exclusively for the aforementioned purposes, the data will be made known, in addition to the internal personnel units responsible for this, also to external collaborators in charge of their processing, whose list is available at the owner’s headquarters, by way of example only: consultants of the job, tax experts, transporters, agents etc …

TRANSFERS OF DATA

Any transfers of Personal Data to Recipients outside the European Union will be performed only to execute the contract.

STORAGE OF THE PERSONAL DATA

All personal data provided will be treated in accordance with the principles of lawfulness, correctness, relevance and proportionality, only with the methods, including computerized and online, strictly necessary to pursue the purposes described above. In any case, personal data will be stored for a period of time not exceeding that strictly necessary to achieve the indicated purposes. The personal data for which conservation is not necessary or for which storage is not required by current legislation, in relation to the stated purposes, will be deleted or transformed into an anonymous form. It should be noted that the information systems used to manage the information collected are configured, originally, in order to minimize the use of the data.

YOUR RIGHTS

Please note that the interested party has the right to access the data concerning him / her at any time by directing your request directly to the Data Controller, using the contact details below:

EXPRESS TRAILERS S.r.l.u., with registered office in Via XX Settembre, 5/7 sc. sx – 16121 GENOVA end Operations Office in Via Milano 40C/7 sc. B – 16126 GENOVA – Tel. +39 010 2758006 – EMail info@expressgroup.it

In the same way, you can exercise the following rights with respect to the processing in question:

Right to transparency (Articles 5 and 12)

About how and why data is processed

Right to information (articles 12, 13, 14)

Right of access to data (art. 15)

To know what data is used, how and why

Right of rectification and integration (art. 16)

Right to oblivion and data deletion (Article 17)

If possible for the Owner, unless the terms of the conservation law are met

Limitation of treatment (art. 18)

The interested party requests a suspension of data processing for his own checks, or requests that only certain data be used

Right to data portability (Article 20)

For transfer to another Owner

Right to object to processing (Article 21)

If the treatment takes place with the purpose of profiling, marketing, historical, scientific and statistical treatments