Issues Influencing Online Shopping Behaviours in the Australian Retail Industry
Management is an important aspect, providing proper shape to the businesses. Application of effective management techniques enhances the professionalism of the managers in terms of enhancing the productivity. It is the primary duty of the managers to cater to the specific needs, demands and requirements of the customers. This is because; customers are the source of increasing the revenue and the profit margin (Carlson, O’Cass & Ahrholdt, 2015). All these aspects are applicable to all the aspects of management including online shopping. This report attempts to investigate the issues, which aggravate the complexities in online shopping within Australian retail industry. Industry examples are used for enlivening the awareness of the businessperson towards the intensity of the issues, stalling the productivity.
According to Auspost.com.au/content, (2019), one of the recent issues in online shopping of Australian retail industry is improper product quality, which contradicts the desires towards possessing quality and branded products. Poor quality products compel the personnel to encounter complaints from the customers, degrading the standards and reputation of the companies and organizations. Along with this, messy logistics is also an issue, which compels the retail industry personnel of Australia to face delays in supplying the orders to the right place at the right time. Ahsan and Rahman, (2016) points out the issue of disruptive logistics, which shuns the interconnectedness of the supply chain network. This disjuncture aggravates the complexities within the inbound and outbound logistics.
As per the opinions of Ramanathan, Subramanian and Parrott, (2017), one of the other issues is the missing links for the confirmation that the products have been properly delivered. It is striking to note that money is deducted from the account of the customers without their notice. Once they log into their confirmation page, it is displayed in a temporary manner. As the customers belong to different cultures, they have individual preferences over the products and services. If the Australian retail industry do not provide variety of choices and variation within the products, process of increasing sales revenue and profit margin becomes difficult.
For averting complaints regarding the improper product quality, lab tests can be conducted in the Australian retail industry before launching them for the customers. This can be done through the means of CCTV cameras for tracking the manufacturing process at the product lines. Experts can be hired for conducting quality assurance and quality control tests for the manufactured products. These tests would be productive in terms of catering to the health issues of the customers (Reimers et al., 2016). Moreover, tracking the manufacturing process would help in estimating the progress regarding the completion of the orders. This estimation, further, would be helpful in making the deliveries according to the orders.
Averting Issues in Online Shopping Behaviour of Australian Retail Industry
For controlling the messy logistics, Australian retail industry personnel can conduct market research for adopting systems, loaded with modern technologies. Conducting meetings would be productive in terms of gaining an insight into the opinions of the stakeholders and shareholders regarding preparing the budgets. Taylor, (2016) opines that Offshore management would be productive in terms of enhancing the knowledge regarding the prospective clients, who would be productive in supplying effective quality systems for completing and tracking the orders.
Roy et al., (2017) is of the view that for coping up with the issue of missing links regarding the payments, the Australian retail industry personnel can adopt mobile marketing. Joint ventures with the mobile brands would expand the scope and arena of the industry. Once the customers make the payments for the orders, an SMS can be generated in the account, confirming the deduction and the available balance. On the other hand, Yeoman, Wheatley and McMahon-Beattie, (2017), time limits should not be there. This is because, if there is any error, the customer would not be able to verify the payment details and file a complaint.
Conducting exquisite market research would enhance the awareness of the retail industry personnel of Australia about the specific tastes and preferences of the customers. Along with this, the research would enhance the cultural diversity of the industry.
Mention needs to be made of the launch of Afterpay in 2015, which increased the involvement of customers by 6% in case of online shopping for Australian retail industry. This reflects the need for more secured payment methods as the customers now are more tech savvy and prefer online means for payment, as it is hassle free and cost effective (Auspost.com.au/content, 2019). SMS regarding confirmation of the payments would be a sequential step after the customers make the payments. Moreover, Pavur et al., (2016) proposes that it would make the business operations transparent, reducing the worries and concerns regarding third party interference in the payment process.
For averting the risk of financial securities, the Australian retail industry personnel can think of innovations within the schemes like Buy now, pay later. The Industry needs to be in constant touch with the banks in orders to ensure that the payments are properly made through instalments. Briefing sessions would make the customers aware of the steps through which they can make the payments securely and safely (Auspost.com.au/content, 2019).
Integrated ecosystems are crucial in the present competitive ambience of the market. This has been implemented both in the online shopping and in-store operations. This is in terms of enhancing the competencies and expanding the business. Typical evidence of this lies in the schemes like Black Friday and Click Frenzy, which enhanced the trafficking of the audience towards the brand image (Auspost.com.au/content, 2019). If the income and lifestyle of the customers are not considered, the results might be negative. Therefore, Stein and Ramaseshan, (2016) considers marketing mix is a best option before introducing such schemes and offers.
Marketing Techniques for Enhancing the Productivity of Online Shopping in Australia
Reference can be cited of the redevelopment of Chadstone shopping centre in Victoria through the inclusion of new dine-in restaurant, movie theatre and Lego Discovery Centre. Such joint ventures would upgrade the infrastructure, uplifting the standards and quality of supply chain. However, food chain Sumo Salad has criticized some stores in Westfield over voluntary administration. The major drive behind this is the claims regarding allowance towards the competitors to launch new food courts (Auspost.com.au/content, 2019). Such instances reflect the need for contracts and ethical code of conduct for modifying the behaviour of the personnel towards achieving competitive advantage over the contemporary brands. Wollenburg et al., (2018) is of the view that policies can be developed for tracking the feasibility of the businesses towards fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements of the customers.
Now the Australian industry is adopting innovative marketing for luring the customers towards shopping centres. Typical evidences of this lies in Melbourne shopping centre, which started hosting VIP nights, which included the facilities of DJs, pop-up bars and free transports. However, this contradicts the online shopping, which most of the customers now prefer (Mena & Bourlakis, 2016). Therefore, the industry personnel can think of schemes like if the customers shop for a stipulated amount, they can get free passes to DJs or free rides in car apps and others. Social media marketing is a best option in terms of tracking the response and involvement of the customers towards such schemes. Balaji and Roy, (2017) thinks that evaluation would help the industry personnel in upgrading the standards and quality of the services.
Mention can be made of the means of surveys and feedbacks, which Australian retail industry has adopted for enhancing the awareness regarding the specific preferences of the customers. Typical evidence of this lies in tracking the number of visitors on the websites. Uploading the survey forms in all the languages would be assistance in terms of catering to the cultural issues.
Conclusion
Like others, Australians prefer buying goods online, as it is convenient and cost effective means for possessing quality products. Besides the shopping centres are offering food, movie and other facilities, which are giving tough competition to the online retail shopping sites. However, facilities like Black Friday, Click Frenzy, price comparison sites and Afterpay have enabled the retail industry personnel to achieve competitive advantage over the shopping centres. Issue like messy infrastructure degrades the quality of the products. Missing links of the payment confirmation is an addition to the complexities, raising doubts over the business. Joint ventures and market research seems to be productive in terms of seeking an insight into the ways in which the specific needs and demands of the customers can be fulfilled. Market research is an effective option in terms of catering to the individual preferences of the customers. Variation within the products and services is an effective means for dealing with the cultural differences.
References
Ahsan, K., & Rahman, S. (2016). An investigation into critical service determinants of customer to business (C2B) type product returns in retail firms. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(6/7), 606-633.
Auspost.com.au/content (2019). Ecommerce: Industry dynamics inside Australian online shopping. Retrieved 20th Jan 2019 from https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/2018-ecommerce-industry-paper-inside-australian-online-shopping.pdf
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Mena, C., & Bourlakis, M. (2016). Retail logistics special issue. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 46(6/7).
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Stein, A., & Ramaseshan, B. (2016). Towards the identification of customer experience touch point elements. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, 8-19.
Taylor, E. (2016). Mobile payment technologies in retail: a review of potential benefits and risks. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 44(2), 159-177.
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Yeoman, I., Wheatley, C., & McMahon-Beattie, U. (2017). Trends in retail pricing: A consumer perspective. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 16(2), 174-200.
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