Australian consumers are embracing digital commerce, but Australian retailers are failing to build long-term relationships with their customers online, according to new research. More than 50% of Australians…
The recent proclamation by David Jones CEO Paul Zahra that traditional department stores are likely to become smaller, fashion-focused and devoid of low-margin items reflects the various competitive influences…
The Federal Government is tipped to be eyeing the online world in a bid to shore up collapsing federal tax revenues. This move has more to do with squeezing “little areas” to get more tax, and ensure…
Will the long tail of the internet be docked by the fastidious imposition of GST to online purchases? Australian retailers have been lobbying the federal government to up the ante on online GST by lowering…
Gerry Harvey is great media talent. When I first became interested in online retail, I almost immediately became interested in Gerry. As far back as 2000, Gerry told ninemsn on a live chat forum “that…
David Jones’ 40% full-year profit plunge sends a very clear message to the Australian retail sector: if you want to perform you need to reform. Such reform means a number changes to aspects of a retailer’s…
Scott Ewing, Swinburne University of Technology and Julian Thomas, Swinburne University of Technology
Australians are among the most enthusiastic online shoppers in the world. Our most recent survey, published in the CCi Digital Futures report, The Internet in Australia 2012, has found a quarter of Australian…
A GST on imported goods valued under $1000 is unlikely say tax experts, despite a government taskforce suggesting “in principle” grounds for it. The Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce yesterday released…
Why are retail sales in the doldrums, or headed online? To me, it’s in part because Australian shopping malls are bland, uninteresting containers of branded chain stores and the same old franchises offering…
There’s a polyester mullet skirt gracing a derrière near you. It’s short at the front, long at the back, and it’s also known as the hi-lo skirt. Like fads that preceded it, the mullet skirt has a short…
Retailers: be careful what you underestimate. Whether it’s the competition, the consumer or the channel to market, if the writing is on the wall - you’d better read it. Globally, the consumer electronics…
The rise in internet-based retailing has inevitably generated debate on the future of bricks-and-mortar shops, and the shopping centres that accommodate them. Despite some pundits predicting the death…
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia