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Jan 05
2011
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There's been a lot in the press here in Oz (great article in the SMH) about the impact of online retailing on Christmas trading.
Online retailing specialist John Debrincat in his recent blog talks about a few narrow minded retail executives can't see past their wallets and asks can your retail store sell online.
The retail customer is no different than any other. The facts are customers will always move to paths of least resistance (whether that's price, product or service driven). The previous greatest barrier to online customer engagement was "trust" which many online buyers and sellers have now addressed through brand authority & profiling, ranking and customer feedback.
The television news stories used to be about online scams now they're all about the bargains and savings.
Australian high street retailers have been slow to embrace the web citing the theory that we're not "catalogue" shoppers like the US and the market too small - these assumption are now being challenged.
As we know there are Australian online retailers now selling to a global market. Australia represents something like 1% of the global GDP.
Over the next few years there will be no difference between online and offline retailing - it will simple be "retailing".
White-goods reseller The Good Guys pushes the ROBO approach - Research Online Buy Offline.
Welcome to the highly competitive global market place.
What are you doing to attract and engage your customers.
