So we all know Harvey Norman and other major retailers in Oz haven’t made a serious go of it online. And in the breach discount outfits have come in and made a killing while the giants slept…
Online Retail in Australia – Find your niche and go for it!
Joel Montgomery of Powerbuy, an online computer and server cashback outfit, highlights how anyone who can find a niche in the market place and with industry knowledge and a little SEO savvy to boot, can join in on the online retail revolution while major Aussie players like Harvey Norman are asleep at the wheel.
Ingram Micro – Opening the Flood Gates
Montgomery explains: “Major IT retailers are increasingly finding it difficult to compete with smaller (more nimble) online businesses who these days can set up online stores with minimal cost and hassle. Ingram Micro’s Techlink4U technology allows small IT computer suppliers to quickly establish a fully-functional, online presence capable of competing with the big stores from as little as a few hundred dollars per month.”
The Key – Online Retail with Low Overheads
Using Ingram Micro‘s technology, your small online store can integrate into Ingram Micro’s logistic system (the largest I.T. distributor in Australia) which enables you to operate with extremely low overheads. You can thus compete with minimal mark-ups on product cost.
Industry Knowledge + SEO Knowledge = $$$
According to Montgomery, many savvy consumers and businesses are now attracted to low-cost stores thanks to web robots such as StaticIce & ShopBot that rank online stores by product model and price. The evolution of the cookie-cutter online store and web robots is helping consumers save whilst taking significant share away from bigger players.
With a good grasp of what you want to sell and some solid SEO knowledge, there’s plenty of opportunity in the Australian market for smaller players to carve out their piece of the pie at the expense of the category leaders.
The Downside for Consumers
The trade-off for consumers, however, is that when they buy from low-cost stores and internet start ups the speed and predictability of delivery and (especially) the post-sales support is nowhere as good as what they’ve come to expect from Tier-1 retailers.
The Upside for Everyone Involved
But with role models like Amazon and local online retailers now showing the way, there’s little reason why a savvy retailer could not provide consumers with as good (if not better) an experience than Australia’s retail giants.
Start your Own Online Business
Know a bit about IT? Have some knowledge of SEO and how to get your site ranking on search engines? Maybe it’s time you took the plunge…
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Thanks to young entrepreneur and online retail startup extraordinaire ,Joel Montgomery of Powerbuy.com.au, for sharing his thoughts on the online retail landscape in Australia.
Full disclosure: Amplify did some consulting work for Powerbuy this year.
I think one of the biggest challenges that people face in starting up their online retail store is finding the right online company to get the job done. They either:
1. Go with a supplier who looks good but has no real substance
2. Think they can do it themselves (with no prior experience)
3. Outsource to India – although this is not always a bad thing.
It’s hard these days to differentiate the true players from great salesmen. But if you’re looking for an SEO company, shop around and take everything that they say with a grain of salt. There’s heaps of resources that can help you choose a great company to suit your needs, and your budget.