Australian retailers appear to be taking a bullish approach to Amazon’s expansion down under, with plans to grow this quarter.
In its inaugural ecommerce report, SLI Systems found that almost all (92 per cent) of Australian online retailers said they plan to grow their product range this quarter, while 62 per cent said they plan to invest in new technology.
Australian retailers are also focused on expanding their teams (62 per cent) and adding additional websites or brands (31 per cent).
However, retailers remain concerned about the expansion of online giants Amazon and Alibaba, with nearly half of Australian respondents citing an increase in concern around Amazon’s arrival.
Joe Thymian, Regional VP of APAC at SLI Systems, said the results of SLI’s survey are positive. “It is encouraging that local retailers aren’t afraid to tackle the challenges of international competition and rising consumer expectations head on,” he said.
“While the ecommerce market in Australia has grown significantly over the past five years, it still only accounts for a small proportion of traditional bricks-and-mortar sales, and remains ripe for further growth.”
International ecommerce outlook
Globally, the survey found confidence in the ecommerce sector is high with 80 per cent of respondents forecasting an increase in revenue this quarter.
The top three business priorities for online retail brands were found to be: customer experience (26 per cent); inventory, logistics and fulfilment (14 per cent); and mobile site (12 per cent).
Going against the grain, Australian retailers identified advertising or paid search as the top online retail initiative for the quarter.
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