Internet traffick statistics experts Hitwise announce that “In 2009, as unemployment rises the number one concern facing retailers will be shrinking consumer spend. The online channel will be more important than ever in winning business and competing against both Bricks and Mortar and Online Retailers.

The 2008 Christmas retail season provides lessons to retailers looking to thrive in what will be a challenging year. By understanding the changes in consumer behaviour online, retailers can learn how to plan their campaigns more effectively.

The online shopping landscape has traditionally been dominated by Auctions websites, Rewards and Directories, and Online Retailers. Consumers have long sought out the best deals from comparison shopping websites and retailers who have been able to pass on cost-savings from operating online.

Christmas 2008 marked a significant shift towards Bricks and Mortar Retailers, as traditional brands began to leverage online for connecting directly with consumers. According to Hitwise, visits to Bricks and Mortar Retailers by Australian Internet users attracted year-on-year growth of 19.2% in December 2008.

There are several reasons for this movement: the ‘flight to quality’ or attractiveness of brands that consumers know and trust during an economic downturn; the drop in the Australian dollar; and the improved online marketing performance by some traditional brands. Online is being revisited as a key channel for brands to differentiate themselves against competitors.

Another major trend in 2008 was the heightened importance of post-Christmas sales, which are now occurring over a longer period. Boxing Day remained a key retail opportunity, attracting the most daily visits in 2008 by Australian Internet users. Bricks and Mortar Retailers particularly benefited from traffic on Boxing Day 2008, attracting year-on-year growth in visits of 29%.

Other major retail findings by Hitwise in Asia Pacific during Christmas last year included:

Bricks and Mortar Retailers are winning the online battle: Visits to Bricks and Mortar Retailers by Australian Internet users attracted year-on-year growth of 19.2% in December 2008; in contrast to a decline in visits of 7.7% to Online Retailers.

Appliances and Electronics is the fastest growing retail category: Appliances and Electronics websites enjoyed the strongest growth in the retail sector over Christmas, with Australian visits increasing by 27.2% amongst all websites comparing December 2007 and December 2008.

Shoppers hunt for second-hand products during downturn: Australian visits to the Classifieds category increased 24.9% in December 2008 compared to December 2007.

Top retail brands are increasing their share of the search pie: The top 100 retail brands in December 2008 in Australia grew in search volume by 27.9%, while in New Zealand and Singapore the top brands grew by 21.1% and 10.6% respectively.

Electronic products are driving the highest rates of paid search: In a Hitwise portfolio of the top 100 product search terms driving traffic to the Shopping and Classifieds industry, electronics-related terms accounted for 63.6% of paid clicks (4 weeks ending 27 December 2008).

Bricks and Mortar Retailers are attracting affluent shoppers online: Bricks and Mortar Retailers in Australia were 28% more likely than Online Retailers to attract visits from the Mosaic Lifestyle Group, ‘Young Ambition’; Educated and high-earning young singles and sharers in the inner suburbs.

Each day, Hitwise provides insights on how 3 million Australian Internet users interact with more than 1 million websites, across 165+ industries.

For more information download the new Hitwise Christmas Retail Review Report – Insights for 2009 Retail Planning, and visit the Hitwise Retail Data Center for the latest industry statistics and data.

Following their great February gift fair GHA  has announced planns for bigger and better things for their inaugural July Home & Giving Fair at the Sydney Showground that helps make it a very attractive event for Australian retailers.

• A soft opening on Friday exclusively reserved for the exhibitor’s invited top buyers – providing a full afternoon of stress-free customer attention, ending with music, cocktails and canapés.
• Free demonstrations by renowned artists:
  • Alex Perry on Saturday – Fashion-conscious Interiors
  • Jamie Durie on Sunday – Outdoor Living
  • Donna Hay on Monday – Cooking
• Daily Visual Merchandising presentations and free one-on-one customised Visual Merchandising analyses by the masters at AUSVM.
• Hourly, topical, and free seminars conducted by retail experts on key business areas aimed to help you succeed.  (with more details to follow on that).
• Expanded Chill-Out Zones for buyers’ rest, relaxation and refreshment.

Serious exhibitors have already commmitted to the July Sydney fair long term ( at discounted rates) because they know that Sydney July is the right timing in the right location. The sheer population within driving distance from Sydney makes it easily Australias biggest market place. 

Well established exhibitors know that retailers in Australias biggest market are going to enjoy getting first look at new designs for the season with the surety of getting stocks of even the most popular new designs. (Because after July, exhibtors can still get stock manufactured in time for Christmas, whilst you can’t do that after the August Fair when it is simply too late). 

Exhibitors at GHA’S recent Home & Giving February Fair have reported between 20 and 80 per cent increases in onsite sales despite industry concerns of decreases in discretional retail spending.  The Effect of Economic Recessions on Exhibitions, published in January by the Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), reports that whilst the number of visitors to a show might be lower during down turns, the quality of attendees is high and every person who attends represents a business opportunity for exhibitors that their absent competition do not have.  Despite numbers for the annual February Fair being down 12.3 per cent over the four days, testimonials from exhibitors supported claims made in the report and revealed that though there were less people on the floor, more people were buying, and they were buying more.  “The success of an exhibition is always critiqued according to the number of people that spill through the doors. The method is outdated and does not offer a true indication of the success of the fair or its individual exhibitors. As demonstrated at our February Fair, and supported in the CEIR’s report, the number of visitors does not directly correlate with sales achieved onsite,” said Alby Taylor, Director, GHA.     According to GHA, essential to the success of a national trade fair is the quality of exhibitors, products and displays. For the February Fair, GHA initiated a Key Exhibitor initiative and positioned industry-leading companies in key locations for maximum impact and to attract quality buyers to the floor.  Designer jewellery exhibitor NanJing Road has reported that the February Gift Fair proved successful for them once again and met the company’s high level of expectation.  “My perception was that the standard of presentation and quality of exhibitors at the February 09 Home & Giving Gift Fair was of the highest order, in fact the best ever,” said David Gay, NanJing Road. “More importantly, the general consensus from retailers indicated that they enjoyed the ambience of the fair and the high standard of exhibitors with quality products made the experience very conducive to doing business,” he concluded.  Renowned worldwide for its beautiful gifts and everyday luxuries, Crabtree & Evelyn also laid praise to the fair, attributing its success to professional management, new layout and high quality of exhibitor and visitor services.  “The ambience created by the layout and the quality of stands was relaxed and professional. Our customers appeared more relaxed and unhurried. They revelled in our new larger installation, stayed longer and were able to discuss all aspects of their Crabtree & Evelyn business in a peaceful and private environment,” said Lyndie Randall, Crabtree & Evelyn.  Innovative homewares company Zimba Designs was thrilled with the whole experience of the February Fair from operational logistics associated with move in and move out, to representation of their buyer base. “After nine years we decided to move to the Home & Giving Fair this year – I can’t overstate how pleased we are with the move! Most importantly, speaking as a kitchen supplier, we welcomed a far better representation of our buyer base than at our previous exhibition site,” said Stephen Loughlin, Zimba Designs Ltd.  “The Home & Giving Fair clearly has the edge in terms of showcasing market-leading kitchen suppliers and it only makes sense to be a part of that mix,” he said.  Long term Home & Giving exhibitor, Baden P Morris, commented that the fair was ‘surprisingly good’ considering the current plethora of negative press surrounding the ‘economic doom and gloom’.  “Our sales were slightly up on last year and comments from retailers were also positive. We had strong interest in our new range of Coyote Painted Glassware and range extensions from our key brands were also well received,” said Dean Osmond, Director, Baden P Morris.  According to Osmond, it is important that people maintain some positivity in an attempt to cope with the current state of the economy.  “Whilst we head into March and the second quarter with nervous anticipation, we are of the belief that maintaining a positive approach is the best way to survive and even prosper in what are interesting times,” Osmond said.

It is nice to be able to buy Australian made goods when we can, but for those Australian shoppers that are “over excited” about buying non Australian made goods, please just give yourself a little reality check.

The first reality is that for every dollar paid, for most consumer goods made in China, almost exactly 10% of that retail price is the price paid for the item to the Chinese manufacturers.

By far the majority of the other 90% is made up of margins paid to Australians in the supply chain like, Australian designers, Australian importers, Australian wholesalers, Australian retailers, and Australian freight companies and import duties to the Australian government, not to mention the first 10% of course which is Australian GST .

The second reality is that out of the 10% that the Chinese manufacturer company is actually paid, the biggest portion of that goes to pay their raw materials and energy costs.

And guess where a lot of that raw materials and energy costs money goes? Yes to Australian exporters of coal and metals and minerals etc.

If we just undertood these real numbers, they would see that buying Non Australian made goods is ALMOST as good to Australia as buying Australian made goods (if you can find any).

And right now, it is important that Australian consumers just buy goods of any origin, just as they normally would, and let the Australians in the supply chain that design and trade and ship and transport and deliver and warehouse and package and retail those goods, make their living.

So how about we ask the Australian media about cutting back on the hype and reporting the actual situation. The Australian Unions also, who contributed the most to the export of all manufacturing jobs from this country, should also focus on protecting some of the above industries that employ a lot more of their members as well as those few left in Australian manufacturing.