My own piece of the Internet
 
Tag: <span>online retail</span>

Tag: online retail

How to beat online only retailers

I was cleaning my glasses the other day and they snapped in half. As a person with a very high prescription this was not good news. So I took myself off to the large Australian optical retailer, OPSM. The service was fantastic. Not only did they give me free contact lenses for a week so I could see, they made sure I had a comprehensive eye test and advised me to change the type of lenses I wore. Having done an online price check i know my flash new glasses will cost more, but I still walked out of their …

So what went wrong?

As an IT veteran, I’ve spent many an anxious  night watching terminals waiting for the load to drop, a server to come up, or just looking for meaning in GB’s of log files. It sucks bug time. So I feel sorry for the technicians associated with Click Frenzy who right now are working feverishly to get the servers back up. They would be wondering what hit them and the marketing folks would be caught between congratulating themselves for accidentally making the right call and calling the IT folks to tell them how much money this is costing them. When the …

Will Click Frenzy work?

Inspired by the success of Cyber Monday, the post-Thanksgiving online sale in the USA, an Australian online retailer group have decided to create an Australian version – Click Frenzy. The online sale, which the promoters say will stop a nation, runs on the 20 November. With participants like Myer, Target, Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti, Dick Smith, Bing Lee, Ted’s Cameras,  SurfStitch, StyleTread, The Iconic, DealsDirect, and Booktopia, Click Frenzy has created a pretty big buzz in the past week with reports in the print and tabloid media. Power Retail, the promoters of Click Frenzy reported that after a profile on A Current Affair, traffic to the Click Frenzy website spiked massively. Click Frenzy is an exciting …

Well duh, experience makes a difference

If you read up a newspaper recently you would have read that some fashion importers and wholesalers have stitched up deals to prevent Australian consumers buying goods cheaper on international websites and that consumers are up in arms. Australian retailers should be concerned. Almost 50% of Australian shoppers appear to be focused on getting the best price regardless of location. The latest ACMA research report (http://engage.acma.gov.au/commsreport/e-commerce/) into online shopping in Australia, reported that the number of online shoppers buying mostly from overseas had jumped to 19%, and that 29% of shoppers buy from overseas and Australian retailers equally. Some retailers …

Australian online retail suddenly got serious

The announcement by David Jones yesterday that they will make a significant investment to transform themselves into a multi-channel retailer is a bold step and a clear sign that traditional Australian business has started to listen to customers. Rather than bemoaning changing consumer behaviour like Gerry Harvey, David Jones are taking action and launching what promises to be one of the most comprehensive Australian online stores. Whilst there has been some criticism about the speed of the delivery by Smart Company, the plan appears to me to be realistic and sensible. David Jones are rebuilding their systems from the ground …

Myer offer free shipping

I found out today that Myer have started to offer free shipping in Australia. This is a welcome step and a sign of the maturing of online retail in Australia. The large department store and big box stores have largely ignored ecommerce for the past 15 years and have started to act after being faced with changing consumer behaviour and declining profits . There is a long way to go. The David Jones online store has made big improvements but is a great example of getting a lot wrong. Some retailers like Bunnings offer only store location tools and catalogue …