There’s no doubt that many successful online businesses exist in Australia that can boast about having the biggest cut of the cake. However, with so much competition, staying ahead of the game has never been tougher than it is now.
The Forrester analyst group reported in October that at least a third of the total number of online ecommerce businesses plan to invest in improving their technology for 2016. Thus, there will be more online spending options, multichannel retail strategies, mobile solutions, and back office integration next year. This means that there will be more benefits for consumers in terms of variety and easy access to services.
Our list of ecommerce superstars in Australia include market leaders, established and leading players in the ecommerce market, and rising stars of the Australian ecommerce arena.
#1: Appliances Online
This online store began as a simple online store and today, is a multimillion-dollar business. John Winning started it singlehandedly, but today, it has 80 employees and it has proved that Australia has great potential for online retail businesses. The website sells white-goods (domestic electrical items). In the past year, the number of customers using this platform has doubled with more than 150,000 online buyers.
#2: BrandsExclusive
This is one of the first member-only shopping sites, which proved to be a great success in the Australian community. It launched in 2009, and today, caters to 1.4 million members. On average, each month, at least 70,000 new members join this ecommerce platform. The customers are very active too, because the website reports generating revenues with 800% increase in the past year, out of which, 70% are repeat purchases. The website sells 300,000 products, which are mostly wines and home ware.
#3: Booktopia
While other bookstores may be struggling to make sales, the Australian online bookseller – Booktopia is making great success. In 2009, at the end of the financial year, this online bookstore reported annual revenues of $9.4 million. In 2010, this figure increased to $14.2 million and there has been a steady increase by 70% each month. Each day, the company sells an average of 4000 books that are worth nearly $1 million per year. The inventory comprises of more than 160,000 books, ready for shipping on demand. Now the company is preparing for the launch of eBook sales.
#4: Catch of the Day
This is Australia’s most visited ecommerce website, and locally owned online retail store. It recently celebrated its fifth year and according to the Experian, it hosted more than 5.4 million visitors to celebrate its birthday. It enjoys an increase in revenues by 100% each year, and it has seen a rise in financial earnings by more than $120 million. This year, the company expects the figures to double and their number of online customers to increase even further.
These four companies are only a short list of the many ecommerce superstars in Australia. However, an analysis of these four online businesses proves that there are great opportunities waiting for people to explore with ecommerce businesses in Australia. The next year (2016), is bound to be a year with lots of new ecommerce businesses experiencing a boom in sales.