In a world that seems to be inevitably drawn towards digital service delivery, few sectors have shown the same level of resistance as building supplies. Even the market behemoth of the retail side of the hardware industry, Bunnings, only got its ecommerce act together in 2018.

Every day 48 per cent of Australians wake up with heel, arch or general foot pain. But despite this, more than half will never visit a podiatrist. This knowledge is part of what inspired integrated footwear and retail company, Atomic Group, to ramp up its online presence for its orthopaedic shoe line, Homyped.

Acceleration of ecommerce was one of the key digital trends witnessed over the past year as the COVID-19 global pandemic forced retailers and their suppliers online. With many expecting the trend to now dominate 2021 and beyond, CMO reached out to several Australian retailers and industry providers to find out what specific technology, business and operational investments they have made during this time to lift their ecommerce capability.

The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping, and with it has come innovative ways retailers and brands are connecting with consumers. Livestreaming is one of the growing new ways consumers can shop in real time while watching live videos.

Few retailers would be as far from claiming ecommerce leadership as charity op shops. But when COVID-related lockdowns descended across Australia last year, charity stores were forced to close their doors along with everyone else considered non-essential.

Rapid uptake of ecommerce was an inevitable outcome of the events of 2020, and naturally, those companies that supplied the picks and shovels of the digital goldrush were among the biggest winners.

Record ecommerce growth and digital engagement has proven a key growth contributor for Australia’s two supermarket giants as both report their half-yearly financial results.

Telstra will take back full ownership of all of its Australian retail store network as part of efforts to improve its omnichannel customer game.

David Jones has appointed a new director of omnichannel to its leadership ranks as it works to bring bricks-and-mortar and digital experiences closer together.

Ecommerce has gone from strength to strength across Australia off the back of the COVID-19 global pandemic and rapidly accelerated digitisation in 2020, several new reports highlight.

Learning fast and adapting quickly have become catchcries for Accent Group’s customer experience (CX) team as it gathers lessons from 2020 to take into the festive shopping season and beyond.

Putting the emphasis on customer and employee experience has not only been Mecca’s most powerful marketing lever to date, it’s led the brand to open its biggest physical store yet in Sydney.

Consumer shopping habits formed in lockdown are here to stay, according to Opinium Research, which was commissioned by payments platform Adyen. While COVID-19 has been a huge catalyst for change, it’s also solidified our preference for certain activities, including shopping in-store.

It’s a problem many brands have been working for years to solve: Growing interest in digital engagement and commerce and a need for greater capability to meet it. But in Farmlands New Zealand’s case, the timeframe for a response was shortened to just three weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown struck antipodean shores.

Contactless payments, 2D and 3D visualisations allowing consumers to better experience products they want to order, B2B consumerisation and live and experience-led commerce are here to stay post-COVID crisis, a new report claims.

The companies winning the consumer race are the ones proactively engaging in digital transformation with aggressiveness, vigour, rigour and a commitment to continuous improvement.

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has accelerated the shift to digital channels and transactions for Australian retailers. Here, Cue Clothing’s CIO, Shane Lenton, shares how the iconic Australian fashion brand adapted to the new normal of retail presented by the pandemic, the virtual and digital offerings it’s rapidly created, and the longer-term innovations they’re helping inform.

Needing to revamp its online presence, high-end fashion house Aje tapped Shopify to improve its online metrics, which came at just the right time for the sudden reliance on ecommerce with the Coronavirus pandemic.

As recent months have clearly shown, having a strong digital marketing and commerce capability has been one of the defining factors of those organisations that have best coped with the COVID-19 crisis.

The digital habits of consumers have skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, although many still prefer to shop in-store, the latest Toluna COVID-19 Barometer has found.

A physical mascot for customers in meetings, ruthless prioritisation, cross-functional teamwork and employee camaraderie are just a few ways Australian retail group, Super Retail Group, has ridden through the COVID-19 crisis.