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Christmas and end-of-year sales are big business for retailers but they also drive enormous returns. The high volumes of unwanted gifts and remorseful sale purchases have implications beyond the bottom line the environmental impact of emissions, repackaging and damaged goods is becoming excessive. The Australia Institute projected an estimated $1 billion worth of unwanted Christmas gift waste in 2024, with 27 per cent of Australians expected to receive gifts they will not use.
Its that time of year again when we can sit down, pour ourselves a little (or indeed large) glass of something, and reminisce about the year that was. It is fair to say that retail has had its ups and down in 2024, with plenty of challenges accompanying the good times. While certain trends that were apparent this year may not be as key in 2025, others will continue into the next year and beyond, playing a major role in shaping customer demand.
As head of digital at Metcash’s Independent Hardware Group (IHG), the $2.1 billion business behind Mitre 10 and Home Hardware, Anna Kismet is a firm believer in using technology to solve unique business problems. One problem she has been working on since joining IHG in 2022 is how to manage the backend systems and processes for a business, Mitre 10, with over 500 stores that are all individually owned and operated. “From a technology point of view, you have multiple point-of-sale sys
Last week, a new addition to Kmarts product range made Alex Gransbury rethink his approach to patenting. He was on a call with one of his Dreamfarm employees when he first heard that one of his inventions had been copied and pasted. For Gransbury, who has invented products in a MacGyver-like fashion for over 22 years, designing new products that are fit-for-purpose and exceed customer expectations.
AI is rapidly transforming digital commerce, but how do you separate real opportunities from hype? Moderated by Orium, AI for Commerce: Foundations, Aspirations, and Hype , experts from Bloomreach , commercetools , Contentstack , and Fluent Commerce explores where AI is already delivering results and where its potential is still unfolding. This masterclass dives into proven AI applications, emerging innovations , and the gaps between promise and reality in commerce.
Five years after acquiring the online marketplace for $230 million, Wesfarmers has decided to wind down Catch , citing a competitive Australian e-commerce landscape. “The recent increase in competitive intensity in the Australian e-commerce sector has affected Catch’s financial performance and growth prospects,” said Rob Scott, Wesfarmers MD. “In this environment, the Groups retail and health businesses, with their leading omnichannel offerings and trusted brands, are bet
Temu has been ranked the fastest-growing website in Australia after recording a 72 per cent increase in unique visitors last year. The Chinese online marketplace took the top spot in Similarweb’s 2025 Digital 100 Australia report which measures the top 250 websites across various categories. Property.com.au and chatgpt.com were in second and third places, respectively.
Myer’s net profit declined 18 per cent to $42 million in the first half, reflecting what the company described as an increase in the cost of doing business. The department store chain noted incurring higher employee costs, higher support office costs related to a new marketing agency and a separate investment in transformation capabilities. Sales remained flat at $1.83 billion, attributed to mixed trading conditions, store closures, and Myer Exclusive Brands stock trapped at its national d
Myer’s net profit declined 18 per cent to $42 million in the first half, reflecting what the company described as an increase in the cost of doing business. The department store chain noted incurring higher employee costs, higher support office costs related to a new marketing agency and a separate investment in transformation capabilities. Sales remained flat at $1.83 billion, attributed to mixed trading conditions, store closures, and Myer Exclusive Brands stock trapped at its national d
The digitalisation of media has seen advertising budgets diverted towards social media campaigns and search engine marketing in Australia, 70 per cent of digital advertising spend goes to Meta and Google. For many retailers, these platforms have grown to consume the whole marketing funnel and their templated options have become the default. Metas advertising revenue in 2024 grew year-on-year, with ad impressions up 6 per cent across all platforms, however, price per ad increased by 14 per cent
Next-generation automation and technology are streamlining waste management costs for retailers and shopping centres across Australia, saving significant costs and boosting sustainability outcomes. Bramidan vertical waste balers imported from Denmark and sold by the Australian company Wastech are being deployed to help with the separation and efficient aggregation of various recyclable materials such as paper, cardboard or plastic, leading to fewer collections by waste collection contractors a
If you don’t have your narrative set, someone else will tell your story, said Katie Welch, the chief marketing officer of Rare Beauty. That was one of the key messages delivered on the second day of Retails Big Show, the National Retail Federations (NRF) annual conference and expo, which is being held in New York City this week. Major players in the retail industry like Tracee Ellis Ross, the founder and co-CEO of Pattern Beauty; Tommy Hilfiger, founder of the iconic eponymous apparel bran
Sydney-based fashion brand One Mile was founded by Sammy Robinson in 2020 after a collaboration with another brand sparked the desire to have her own label. The coastal-inspired brand launched with a sell-out knitwear collection, and caters to an often overlooked taller female demographic. Recently One Mile opened its first boutique in Bondi Beach, which has seen the brands cult following frequent the space and sell out stock.
This webinar will explore how companies can proactively address compliance risks–rather than reactively responding to–UFLPA enforcement actions. Ethan Woolley will provide insights into the latest CBP enforcement trends, entity list updates, and industries under increased scrutiny, with a look at potential shifts under the Trump administration. Ethan will also explore how predictive data and strategic due diligence can help organizations stay ahead of regulatory challenges and strengthen complia
Woolworths Group booked lower profit in the first half, attributed to the 17-day industrial action impacting its supermarket business last December and a trend of customers seeking more value when shopping. The group’s net profit fell 20.6 per cent to $739 million after earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) slid 14.2 per cent to $1.45 billion.
Children’s clothing retailer Blue Sky Kids Land has been fined more than $5.1 million for exploiting Chinese migrants. The company previously operated stores in Sydney, NSWs Central Coast, Newcastle and Canberra, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). The penalties include a $4.3 million penalty against Blue Sky Kids Land, $760,000 against company director Guo Dong Gu, and $43,000 against company director Fei Rong Yang.
Mosaic Brands will unlikely be able to pay its creditors, including suppliers and landlords, for goods and services supplied before October 28 last year, when the fashion retailer entered administration and receivership. Even secured creditors look to be out of pocket. “There is not expected to be sufficient funds from the realisation of assets to pay amounts owed to secured creditors in full,” said FTI Consulting, the voluntary administrators of Mosaic Brands.
Amazon, the $2 trillion gorilla, arrived on our shores officially in December 2017, just in time for Christmas. And some seven years on, much to the dismay of retailers, it is now starting to shake the tree and become a real force in the market , as Australian shoppers increasingly turn to alternatives to manage the cost-of-living crisis. Amazon announced it posted over $3.1 billion in sales revenue (across cloud, advertising and marketplace sales) in calendar year 2023, up from $2.63 billion in
Speaker: Benjamin Woll, Tiffany Spizzo, and Jaime Santos Alcón
Enterprise commerce is evolving fast, and brands relying on rigid, one-size-fits-all solutions risk losing agility. But modernization doesn’t have to mean disruption. In this webinar, we’ll explore how an extensible, modular approach empowers brands to integrate new capabilities, enhance performance, and scale efficiently—all while leveraging Shopify’s strengths.
Australian retail sales saw significant year-on-year increase in November, largely attributed to the Black Friday sales. “Black Friday sales events proved once again to be a big hit, with widespread discounting and higher spending across all retail industries,” said Robert Ewing, head of business statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). “The popularity of Black Friday sales continues to grow with promotional activity now stretching across the entire month of Nov
Location has always been a prime strategic advantage in the highly competitive grocery retailing industry. Traditionally, major retailers worldwide have had to rely on local government data and interpreting planning policies to determine where to land bank for future developments and where to consider rebuilding, upgrading or expanding existing stores.
Transitioning one of Australias leading beauty retailers from a pureplay e-commerce operation to a truly entrenched omnichannel business has been a really positive experience, Sacha Laing, Adore Beauty CEO, told Inside Retail. Becoming an integrated omnichannel retailer meant that a lot of the businesss back-end processes had to be re-engineered with its brand partners and internal teams.
Supply chains are the engine rooms of great retail brands and, when executed well, are the quiet achiever of retail value chains, until something goes wrong, of course. Though most of the supply-chain disruptions the Covid-19 global pandemic caused are over, geopolitical fault lines developed in 2024, with heightened military tensions in the Middle East and global power brokers flexing their muscle to the detriment of the stability and cost of some global supply chains once again.
Speaker: David Nisbet, Everett Zufelt, and Michaela Weber
Once upon a time, in the vast realm of online commerce, there lived a humble checkout button overlooked by many. Yet, within its humble click lay the power to transform a mere visitor into a loyal customer. 🧐 💡 Getting checkout right can mark the difference between a successful sale and an abandoned cart, yet many businesses fail to make payments a part of their commerce strategy even when it has a direct impact on revenue.
Premier Retail expects lower global sales in the fiscal first half, with Australian sales broadly flat compared to the year-ago period. The company forecasts global sales to be between $855 million and $865 million and underlying earnings before interest and taxes to be in the range of $160 million to $165 million. It estimates global sales of its apparel brands business to range from $405 million to $412 million and its underlying EBIT between $31 million and $35 million.
If the Apple store was a womenswear boutique, it would be Henne. The Australian fashion label delivers a unique in-store retail experience. Rather than stocking clothing in multiple sizes on shelves or racks for customers to try on and purchase, Everything that you see on display is just for display, Nadia Bartel, Hennes director, told Inside Retail.
As January 26 approaches, brands are starting to signal their values to their customers. While retailers may wish to be exempt from the national Australia Day debat, a simple open or closed sign or decision to stock Australian flag merchandise says it all. While some retailers have reversed course on their support for changing the date after the failed Voice to Parliament referendum and public backlash, Melbourne-based social enterprise and fashion label Homie is standing in solidarity with Firs
Wesfarmers Health has opened the pilot of a new beauty and wellness concept store called Atomica, which it plans to roll out in major cities this year. The first store is located at the Castle Towers shopping centre in Sydney, in a space formerly occupied by Priceline shop. Wesfarmers Health partnered with branding and design agency Houston Group to design the inaugural Atomica store.
Let's set the record straight: in-store retail isn't dead - it's evolving! Faced with the digital age and the demands of omnichannel shopping, some retailers are thriving while others are struggling to adapt. Join Jay Black in this exclusive session as he explores the strategies that set successful stores apart, including: Crafting unique and unforgettable in-store experiences 🛍️ Mastering the art of retail demands 🛒 Navigating inventory challenges in today's climate 📦 an
Woolworths and Coles, Australias supermarket goliaths, have gone from Covid-19 heroes to cost-of-living villains in the last two years. Two of the nations major employers, with a combined workforce of 320,000 staff and about a 66 per cent share of the grocery market, Woolworths and Coles endured a 2024 they would no doubt rather forget. There has, of course, been political and media scrutiny of the supermarket sector in the past but in 2024, Australias two largest retailers were caught in a poli
Myer has revealed the details of early shareholder votes in favour of its proposed acquisition of Premier Retail’s apparel brands Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti, and Jacqui E. In a summary of direct and proxy votes received on the resolution before the meeting, Myer said that 95.45 per cent of its shareholders who voted before the meeting approved the proposal, while 3.82 per cent voted against it.
Last year, retailers worldwide grappled with stockouts, overstocking, and shrinkage. This year, the challenge remains just as pressing. As supply chains grow more complex and consumer expectations shift, maintaining the right inventory balance is becoming increasingly difficult and the cost of getting it wrong is high. Lost sales, frustrated customers, and weakened brand loyalty are all at stake.
Wesfarmers decision to wind down Catch this week has prompted strong reactions from the retail industry, with many former Catch employees, customers and armchair experts sharing their thoughts on why the company that once had a run-rate of $1 billion is about to cease trading. Inside Retail spoke to industry experts Brian Walker, founder and executive chair of Retail Doctor Group, Mal Chia, managing director and co-founder of Ecom Nation, and Dr Jessica Pallant, marketing lecturer at RMIT Univer
Speaker: Ashlee Aldridge - Reach Partners LLC | Bill Mirabito - Chameleon Collective | Ronak Shah - PSA Retail & CPG, Amazon Web Services | Wayne Teigen - Pivotree
What trends can online merchants expect after more than two years of exponential growth? Companies must expand on the trends that exploded during the pandemic if they want to see continued growth in their businesses while facing a recessionary economy. From social commerce to BOPIS, the name of the game is to meet and sell to customers wherever they are, through multiple channels.
Kogan has returned to strong top-line growth in the fiscal first half, which was fuelled by solid holiday sales. The company reported gross sales of $492.5 million during the July-December period, a 10.3 per cent increase year-on-year. Revenue also grew 9.9 per cent to $272.7 million. On the bottom line, gross profit rose 18.3 per cent to $106 million and adjusted EBITDA improved 17.5 per cent to $25.3 million.
Long-running Australian fashion labels Millers and Noni B are to be closed down after the receivers of parent company Mosaic Brands failed to find a buyer. About 930 staff will lose their jobs. Today’s announcement means all Mosaic brands will be closed, none of them of sufficient interest to attract a white knight investor to ensure their survival.
City Chic Collective expects to report lower sales revenue in the fiscal first half, despite a positive holiday trading period. The plus-size women’s fashion retailer forecasts to report sales revenue of $69.5 million in the 26 weeks to December 29, down 3.6 per cent from the year-ago period. It estimates a 2.8 per cent increase in Australia-New Zealand revenue as stores and online business performed above the company’s expectations. “We expect this momentum to continue into H2
Sabo will open its first Sydney store in Westfield Bondi Junction next week as part of the expansion of its brick-and-mortar footprint. Launched exclusively online in 2011, Sabo offers affordable and chic, resort-style fashion inspired by the Greek heritage of its founders Yiota Kouzoukas and Thessy Batsinilas. The brand now ships to more than 200 countries, with products designed in-house at the headquarters in Brisbane.
Sustainability impacts every nation, company, and person around the world. So much so that, in 2015, the United Nations (UN) issued a call for action by all countries to work toward sustainable development. In response to this and as part of a global Sustainability at Retail initiative, Shop! worked collaboratively with its global affiliates to address these critical issues in this white paper.
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