Something we bemoan a lot around here is the failure of Australian retailers to offer us a compelling online shopping experience. Don’t they know that Australians LOVE to shop online? Why are they letting more than half our (multi-billion dollar) online spend go overseas, often to stores which are smart enough to actively court the Australian market, such as Topshop and The Book Depository?

We have heard various excuses thrown around – the market’s too small, early adopters were burned years ago when the market wasn’t established, franchisees won’t support it – but none of them are washing with us. We think the industry needs to put on its big girl pants and face up to the realities of 21st century retailing.

The fact is that Australians are big online spenders, and given that many of us are geographically isolated (from high-street retailers at least), and all of us are spending more time online, we’re only going to spend more this way.

There are a few local retailers who are getting it right: JB Hi Fi, Dick Smith, Sportsgirl and Witchery are notable for their online success. Just recently Big W has decided to make a serious investment in the digital space, which makes it the only department store in the country that’s bothering in any substantial way. Have the others not heard that the John Lewis department store in the UK sells more via their website than from their flagship Oxford Street store (which has ten times the staff)?

To add insult to injury, the websites of domestic department stores don’t contain comprehensive product lists, which makes them as useless for research as they are for actual shopping.

So, what do you think: will Australian retailers hurry up and get with the program or sit back and watch an increasing share of consumer spending go to savvy operators overseas?

Teresa Sperti, Head of Marketing & Technology at realestateVIEW.com.au and author of the Digital Marketing Lab blog shares some interesting statistics in this article:
Online Retailing – Unfashionable Down Under