An interesting analysis published by CBA today confirms the complaints of retailers: that online spending overseas is expanding, at the expense of local retail.
CBA says that online spending is up 36.5% this year, and that it totalled $5.4Bn
It also points out what is obvious to anyone who has shopped online: mostly it is because domestic retail prices are too high and that, despite the shipping costs, it is often much cheaper to buy overseas. Retailers may end up having to match overseas prices but this exposes a number of issues for the domestic market. Lower profits may imply that rents are too high for shops, which would have downside implications for the major owners of shopping centres, and in turn our superannuation funds which invest in them.
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