tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/retail-realities-8362/articlesRetail Realities – The Conversation2013-12-18T19:16:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/196452013-12-18T19:16:59Z2013-12-18T19:16:59ZReady, steady, shop: shopping as sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37747/original/zg8gqd8n-1386913985.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C100%2C947%2C937&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If your target is making the biggest saving while shopping, you are probably a Sport Shopper. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you approach shopping as if it is a competitive, sport-like activity? Or perhaps you attach social or emotional value in being recognised by your friends and peers as a great shopper, a proficient or efficient shopper? </p>
<p>If so, you could be a “sport shopper”, according to an academic paper presented at an international conference earlier this year. This shopper can recount in detail where and when they purchased items - and most importantly, how much they saved. For this shopper, it is not about spending the least, but saving the most.</p>
<p>This new “type” should not be confused with the economic shopper; constrained financially and forced to seek out low prices and generic products. And they are definitely not the recreational shopper, who enjoys shopping as a fun activity, engaging in the task to reduce stress and seek pleasure. </p>
<p>While many view shopping as a fairly benign activity, there is considerable interest in shopping motivation, particularly from social sciences and marketers - mostly in a bid to more effectively target consumers and shape our shopping experience. </p>
<p>Surveys of female shoppers in Chicago in the 1950s by American consumer behaviour academic Gregory Stone in 1954 identified the ethical shopper and economic shopper, as well as other types: the apathetic shopper, disengaged and disloyal; and the service shopper - demanding and quality seeking.</p>
<p>Others followed, such as Danny Bellenger and Pradeep Korgaonkar’s Recreational Shopper (1980); who enjoyed shopping as a fun activity, to reduce stress and the seek pleasure. Ronald Faber and Thomas O’Guinns’ Compulsive Shopper (1992) was compelled to purchase repeatedly during every shopping centre outing, while Dennis Rooks’ Impulsive Shopper in 1987 selected and purchase with little thought, motivation or concern for consequences.</p>
<p>Unlike recreational shoppers, sport shoppers do not enjoy all shopping, just shopping for exceptional bargains on special items sought and desired. Provisioning, buying school uniforms, doing some grocery shopping has no interest to this shopper. In this context, they would approach the shopping task apathetically.</p>
<p>Unlike compulsive shoppers, the sport shopper is not compelled to make a purchase on each outing. Their shopping activities are controlled and considered and they are able to rationalise an unsuccessful trip as an information gathering opportunity or practice for <a href="http://cob.sfsu.edu/directory/faculty_contribution/36131">future shopping missions</a>.</p>
<p>Like an athlete, the sport shopper hones their skills regularly. Once a product is desired, training begins. Attention is given to promotional material and an extensive information search is undertaken to determine market prices and potential discounts. Visits to the same store, over multiple days, enables the sport shopper to identify stock flow and promotional timing. Early morning reconnaissance missions are undertaken, with the objective to be first in the door.</p>
<p>Just as Carolyn Jagacinski and John Nicholls (1987) <a href="http://sf5mc5tj5v.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Competence+and+affect+in+task+involvement+and+ego+involvement%3A+The+impact+of+social+comparison+information&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Educational+Psychology&rft.au=Jagacinski%2C+Carolyn+M&rft.au=Nicholls%2C+John+G&rft.date=1987&rft.issn=0022-0663&rft.eissn=1939-2176&rft.volume=79&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=107&rft.epage=114&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=10_1037__0022_0663_79_2_107&paramdict=en-US">found</a> that athletes are driven by their ego to attain goals, Sport Shoppers seek to outperform others. Their goals are accomplished when they beat the retail system, or other shoppers (their competitors), by finding that desired item at a significantly discounted price.</p>
<p>Their purchases are then displayed (or worn) with pride, like trophies, which provides opportunities to relate tales of victory, as an old footballer might with mates over a few beers. Just like an athlete, the sport shopper is continuously motivated to improve their personal best by constantly striving to locate that next elusive product at a larger discount than before.</p>
<p>While saving the most is the goal for sport shoppers, they are not a Thrift Shopper, who hunts out <a href="http://sf5mc5tj5v.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Thrift+shopping%3A+Combining+utilitarian+thrift+and+hedonic+treat+benefits&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Consumer+Behaviour&rft.au=Fleura+Bardhi&rft.au=Eric+J+Arnould&rft.date=2005-06-01&rft.pub=Henry+Stewart+Conferences+and+Publications+Ltd&rft.issn=1472-0817&rft.eissn=1479-1838&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=223&rft.externalDocID=877177631&paramdict=en-US">bargains out of economic necessity</a>. </p>
<p>This type of shopper is not financially constrained and in many cases may be highly paid. The excitement of sport shopping is not in finding a handbag at Target for $12 (spending the least), but by finding a $1200 Chanel handbag at $350 (saving the most).</p>
<p>Marketers appear to already be responding to this emergent shopping type. For instance, a South African-developed app called Found Shopping allows shoppers to photograph a recent purchase, describe the discount, store of purchase and “flaunt their shopping skills”.</p>
<p>Other sites such as Zappos and ShopSavvy are also claiming to making shopping simpler, easier and more fun than ever before. The ShopSavvy app helps you find the best prices closeby, providing product information and linking to online shopping. </p>
<p>Similar to Found Shopping, it allows you to view products your friends and others have purchased by following them and their lists, or “be a shopping superstar” by creating your own list for others users to follow". These are modern day virtual market mavens.</p>
<p>The intent of these new sites and apps is more about creating a sense of competition among shoppers, encouraging them to shop harder, longer, better, smarted; rather than passively promoting special offers broadly. Retailers have begun to leverage the power of word-of-mouth advertising, as friends share their shopping victories.</p>
<p>So as we hit the stores for the Boxing Day Sales, maybe the Sport Shopper in us all will once again surface.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the third piece in our series on the commercial realities facing Australian retailers this season.</em></p>
<p><em>Read the other pieces below:</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/aussie-retailers-should-get-their-christmas-wish-this-year-21510">Aussie retailers should get their Christmas wish this year</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doing-it-better-overseas-online-retailers-aisles-ahead-21179">Doing it better? Overseas online retailers aisles ahead</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19645/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Mortimer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Do you approach shopping as if it is a competitive, sport-like activity? Or perhaps you attach social or emotional value in being recognised by your friends and peers as a great shopper, a proficient or…Gary Mortimer, Senior Lecturer, QUT Business School, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211792013-12-17T18:47:10Z2013-12-17T18:47:10ZDoing it better? Overseas online retailers aisles ahead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37463/original/6rvp7fq2-1386742692.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C61%2C1520%2C846&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Overseas based online retailers are far more innovative in coming up with ways to keep customers clicking.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>All the signs are there that Australian retailers are not investing enough in their online operations.</p>
<p>More than A$24 billion was spent online during the 12 months to March 2013, <a href="http://www.powerretail.com.au/insights/roy-morgan-research-shows-over-50-percent-of-australians-shop-online/">with Australian online sales growing by 11.9% compared with general retail growth of just 3.4%</a>.</p>
<p>And online retail sales across the entire Asia Pacific region are anticipated to overtake North America in 2013, <a href="http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7klm4s/global_b2c">accounting for a third of global e-commerce revenues</a>.</p>
<p>But the growth isn’t coming from Australia. It’s coming from China. </p>
<p>Why is it that Australia has so few businesses offering goods and services online, and a <a href="http://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/economy/33439-gerry-harvey-slams-online-retail-yet-again---but-he-s-right-about-one-thing.html">retail sector that actively questions the value of online sales</a>? And what makes the big international sites like Gilt.com, Nieman Marcus and ASOS so appealing when compared with local offerings?</p>
<h2>Tricks of the online rag trade</h2>
<p>There are a series of elements that characterise these successful international sites and that have an impact on the loyalty users have for these online retail brands.</p>
<p>The first is a strong integration with social media, and a highly personalised viewing experience. Rather than abandoning the user to a mercurial search engine and a complex category search, these sites force users to enter via a sign-in process that maintains a “memory” of user preferences and (where relevant) Facebook likes, to generate a featured product viewing experience.</p>
<p>The algorithms, while not perfect, are successful enough that the suggested product experience has a strong correlation with sales of specific goods. And these brands will appear regularly in Facebook advertisements among existing registered customers, further reinforcing the purchasing experience.</p>
<p>Sites like Gilt.com also offer a “try on” facility, where users can adjust a model to their own dimensions to imagine how the goods will look on themselves.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37375/original/89zh35th-1386719124.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Try on’ features remove some of the reasons why shoppers prefer brick-and-mortar stores. But they aren’t available on all online retail sites.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gilt Groupe Inc</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most items will also be able to be shared through multiple social presences, and in some cases they will be given incentives to share such as a discount on purchase or a loyalty points programme.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/37376/original/zwxs4jhv-1386719176.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sharing products through different social media results in discounts on some sites, which encourages new shoppers for a small cost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gilt Groupe Inc</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The more successful online retailers in the US and UK often deliberately keep limited stock of high-value products, to reinforce the sense of exclusivity. They keep high value, high frequency customers informed of the new availability of stock to encourage competitive shopping. </p>
<p>This invitation-only approach has generated a sense of competitiveness among shoppers to be invited to trial and purchase products ahead of general release, or at a discounted rate.</p>
<p>Gilt.com co-founder Alexis Maybank has described the competitive online customers of the store as “<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/starbucks-450-holiday-gift-cards-sell-out-flash-2D11703501">shopping athletes</a>”: people who will add their name to a waiting list for a limited-edition gold Starbucks card.</p>
<p>Among Australian businesses selling goods online, a few use some of these usability and incentive-oriented techniques, but use is scattered and often impersonal. </p>
<p>Most Australian online retailers tend to allow shopping without logging in to a site, and they will have limited engagement with their community on social channels. Even if goods can be shared through social channels, the engagement with these social sharing triggers is low. There are few incentives to share and engage with the firm; social is considered an add-on, rather than a deep element of the sales experience. </p>
<p>And VIP programs are limited to the in-store card-based loyalty experiences that fail to differentiate one customer from another. There are no releases for gold-standard customers only, and rather than a sense of exclusivity for products, lack of stock is considered a weakness rather than a strength.</p>
<h2>The myths about Australian retailers online</h2>
<p>But while these usability and user-oriented differences separate the Australian ecommerce environment from our US and UK competitors, there are other reasons that underlie our <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/deloitte-australian-retailers-will-continue-to-ignore-the-online-sales-channel-this-christmas-2013-10">spectacularly poor showing</a> in business participation in online sales.</p>
<p><strong>Myth: Local trade laws make trading online difficult</strong></p>
<p>Australian businesses often complain about having to adopt local trade and taxation laws, and say these are difficult to apply online. However, it is easy enough to operate an online business from a specific location and still observe local taxation and trade requirements. The Australian Government has <a href="http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au/e-commerce/">advice on how to operate an ecommerce business</a>. </p>
<p>And the evidence of online sales research is demonstrating that Australian customers are seeking local traders – and are <a href="http://www.startupsmart.com.au/retail/ashop-report-on-australian-ecommerce-finds-online-shopping-thriving.html">willing to pay additional taxes</a> – in order to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2013/s3770816.htm">get access to their goods more quickly</a>. </p>
<p>The relative ease with which online sales can operate is reflected in the relatively high number of small to medium enterprises that sell online when compared with larger businesses – <a href="http://about.sensis.com.au/Small-Business/Sensis-eBusiness-Report/">58% of SMEs currently sell online and 70% receive online payments</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Half-truth: Australia doesn’t have a catalogue buying culture</strong></p>
<p>Australia does not have a history of catalogue sales like the US and UK do, but that hasn’t prevented us from becoming active online buyers, <a href="http://about.sensis.com.au/Small-Business/Sensis-eBusiness-Report/">with 78% of us buying goods online</a>. </p>
<p>Australians are more than willing to purchase goods that are not dependent on physical parameters – luxury goods like jewellery, handbags and fragrances, as well as ticket products like travel, entertainment tickets. </p>
<p>Contrary to the opinion of traditional retailers, sites like <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/winning-way-with-whitegoods-online-or-off/story-fn91v9q3-1226694538752">AppliancesOnline have noted</a> that Australians are willing to buy technology, white goods and consumer electronics when their goods can be shipped quickly, cheaply and the online retailer maintains a strong service relationship with the purchaser.</p>
<p><strong>Half-truth: My customers want to shop in store</strong></p>
<p>Shoppers may enjoy the offline shopping experience, but this is no reason to ignore the rise of technology mediated shopping experiences. The rise of mobile device shopping cannot be ignored. </p>
<p>Australian retail organisations have made the shopping experience a part of life in Australia, but even the likes of Westfield have acknowledged that online shopping is something <a href="http://mumbrella.com.au/westfield-targets-online-shoppers-searchable-mall-190200">they need to support</a> for people who want a variety of shopping experiences.</p>
<p>The success of international retail brands is through capitalisation of customer desire for personalisation, as well as investment in cost-effective distribution and delivery. </p>
<p>If Australian businesses continue to lag in online shopping investment and customisation, they can hardly complain about loss of business. Ultimately, their pride in customer service is compromised by their resistance to a consumer change that is permanent.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the second piece in our series on the commercial realities facing Australian retailers this season.</em></p>
<p><em>Read the other pieces below:</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/aussie-retailers-should-get-their-christmas-wish-this-year-21510">Aussie retailers should get their Christmas wish this year</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ready-steady-shop-shopping-as-sport-19645">Ready, steady, shop: shopping as sport</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Jacobs works for 1000heads P/L, a Word of Mouth Agency that provides advice to firms on use of digital technologies for business purposes. </span></em></p>All the signs are there that Australian retailers are not investing enough in their online operations. More than A$24 billion was spent online during the 12 months to March 2013, with Australian online…Joanne Jacobs, Adjunct Associate Professor, Creative Industries, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/215102013-12-16T19:15:44Z2013-12-16T19:15:44ZAussie retailers should get their Christmas wish this year<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/37816/original/csytpbgf-1387155506.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Christmas consumer ritualism: how will Christmas 2013 pan out for retailers?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Daniel Munoz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Consumer Sentiment <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.com/miaesr/publications/indicators/csi.html">fell</a> by 4.8% in December, but despite the drop other indicators still point toward a robust Christmas period for retailers. </p>
<p>Retail trade <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8501.0">recorded</a> its strongest result for three consecutive months to October, with Queensland and Western Australia leading the way. </p>
<p>A closer inspection of ABS Retail <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8501.0">figures</a> indicate six consecutive months of positive results and this suggests consumer confidence has finally returned to the market.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth Bank surveyed 1000 of its customers and <a href="https://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/news/media-releases/2013/festive-spending-to-peak-as-four-million-consumers-plan-to-hit-the-shops-this-weekend.html">estimates</a> we will spend at least A$2.2 billion more this Christmas than we did last year, and the Australian National Retailers Association has predicted we will splurge close to A$30 billion over this Christmas period.</p>
<p>But it may not be a rosy outlook for all retail sectors. Overall we are spending more, but not where we once traditionally did.</p>
<p>Department store sales were down (0.3%) and household goods were flat. In fact Westpac’s Consumer Sentiment report noted a 2.3% decline in shoppers suggesting it was now a good time to buy a major household item. But we are eating out more, with cafes, restaurants and take-away up. Clothing, footwear and accessories also produced a positive result.</p>
<h2>Online shopping hoopla</h2>
<p>The way we shop at Christmas has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Where once we battled the car parks and crowds, venturing into the large department stores, many of us are choosing more efficient ways to shop this Christmas. </p>
<p>Shopping from the office, in our lounge rooms and on the way to work on tablets and mobile phones is now an easy option. And it would appear three quarters of us are shopping locally online.</p>
<p>But the impact online retailing has had on traditional bricks and mortar retail has to some extent been exaggerated. Australian online retail sales grew to A$14.4 billion to October this year, representing 6.4% of total traditional retail spending. Of that A$14.4 billion, Australian retailers continue to <a href="http://business.nab.com.au/online-retail-sales-index-indepth-special-report-october-2013-5126/">capture</a> the majority of online sales at about 74%.</p>
<p>Online shopping remains at an embryonic stage in Australia at 6.4% of total retail spending. In the United States and the United Kingdom it’s closer to 10% and this suggests significant opportunities for Australian retailers to bolster sales through online platforms. </p>
<p>So are Australian retailers finally catching up, responding to changes in consumer shopping patterns by implementing multi-channel approaches, including online? </p>
<p>Deloitte’s <a href="http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_AU/au/industries/consumerbusinessandtransport/97254c9cc50c1410VgnVCM3000003456f70aRCRD.htm">Christmas Retailers’ Survey</a> suggests Australian retailers continue to lag behind the rest of the world and are not responding fast enough to leverage these opportunities.</p>
<h2>Shoppers are predictable</h2>
<p>For some however, the traditions of Christmas shopping are hard to break. </p>
<p>Christmas shopping is steeped in consumer ritualism. Just as football fans paint their faces, wear their favourite jerseys and engage in the atmosphere of the game, shoppers do the same things. Stocktake sales, Black Friday (US), Boxing Day shopping, and lining up for seafood at Easter are all examples of consumer ritualism. It is a rite of passage. </p>
<p>Christmas shopping is a deeply entrenched, family shopping ritual. Parents bring their kids to the Myer/David Jones windows. We battle the traffic, hunt for a car parking space, push through the crowds, run all over town at Christmas time, because that is what our parents did, that is what we have always done. For this group of shoppers, online shopping at Christmas is just not “kosher”, and telling people how much effort they went through to get the gift simply adds to the sentiment.</p>
<p>NAB’s measure of online retail spending is growing at 0.3% a month, its slowest pace in the three-year history of the <a href="http://business.nab.com.au/online-retail-sales-index-indepth-special-report-october-2013-5126/">index</a>. At the same time, bricks and mortar retail trade grew by 0.5%. This slow down in online sales growth has been attributed in some way to the slump in the Aussie dollar, which has fallen from more than US97¢ to under US90¢. With about a quarter of our online spending going to overseas stores, a fall of that size makes imported goods noticeably more expensive. </p>
<p>A weakening in daily deals sites may also account for this slowdown, as retailers tire of selling their goods and services at deep discounts.</p>
<p>A slowdown in online shopping will be even more pronounced as we lead up to Christmas, and so I predict a strong Christmas for retailers this year.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This is the first piece in our series on the commercial realities facing Australian retailers this season.</em></p>
<p><em>Read the other pieces below:</em></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/doing-it-better-overseas-online-retailers-aisles-ahead-21179">Doing it better? Overseas online retailers aisles ahead</a><br>
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ready-steady-shop-shopping-as-sport-19645">Ready, steady, shop: shopping as sport</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21510/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Mortimer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Consumer Sentiment fell by 4.8% in December, but despite the drop other indicators still point toward a robust Christmas period for retailers. Retail trade recorded its strongest result for three consecutive…Gary Mortimer, Senior Lecturer, QUT Business School, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.