Online electrical retailer Big Brown Box said that over half a million internet shoppers have visited its site bigbrownbox.com.au since its launch six months ago.
Big Brown Box recently featured on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair and the site experienced an enormous increase in enquiries.
Big Brown Box general manager, Peter Krideras, believes the increased traffic to the site underlined Australia’s enthusiasm for online shopping.
“Once the feature aired on Channel Nine our website was visited by unprecedented numbers,” said Krideras.
Krideras believes shoppers will increasingly turn to online retailers for savings on electrical products as they search for the best deals in the current economic environment.
“Australians have really embraced online shopping and we’re encouraged by the traffic we’re seeing. More than 13 million Australians have access to the internet and online consumer sales are expected to grow by some 24 per cent annually with predictions of over $30 billion in 2011,” said Krideras.
The BigBrownBox.com.au website has also received a very positive response from shoppers in regional Australia, with more than 40 per cent of customers coming from outside metropolitan areas.
Krideras added “research revealed clear trends emerging about shoppers’ expectations of online retailers including a demand for access to recognised brands, free delivery, strong after-sale customer support and the latest consumer technology, all of which are parts of our service focus”.
Pricing remains an over-riding concern for consumers and Krideras believes online retailers must continue to provide savings as well as an unique retail experience and broad product range in order to attract customers from traditional
brick-and-mortar operators.
“One thing we’ve found through customer feedback is that customers are sick of hidden costs and add-on selling from traditional retailers. They hate being hit with a delivery charge for a large value product or being pushed into buying an extended warranty – hence our focus on free delivery and hassle free shopping,” he said.