Ao.com boots up for World Cup as it kicks off television offer

The etailer’s first foray outside domestic appliances came as rival Dixons unveiled its plan to merge with Carphone Warehouse.

Ao.com boss John Roberts intends to “seize the opportunity” the World Cup offers and hopes to “shake up” the category.

He said: “Consumers find it a very confusing category to buy. The big manufacturers are investing a huge amount on new features but consumers don’t know how to use them.”

The etailer has invested in rich media for the launch, including presenter-led feature videos and 360-degree images to create a “showroom experience”.

Roberts claimed that bricks-and-mortar rivals were selling TVs “very badly”.

“To find out what the picture quality would be like in your home, you need to see the TV from 15 feet away. You can’t get that in a store,” he said.

Ao.com, which floated in February with a £1.2bn price tag, will run a football-themed advert to push televisions, which Roberts said have the potential to eclipse its existing business.

He said: “We already get significant search volumes from consumers thinking we sell TVs. Televisions are a bigger market than white goods by 50% and we’ve shown what we can do there.”