Controversial statistics about the cost of shopping online in Australia were released today. Gabbi Murrell, co-founder of Launceston internet Search Solutions Company Shlimbo (http://www.shlimbo.com.au), says, “A national myth that shopping online is cheaper overseas is a major causal factor in nearly $6B online shopping dollars heading overseas every year. It is certainly our experience that shopping online in Australia is generally not more expensive, you just need to know where to look!”
Gabbi says that, “Australia is in the midst of a cyber-shopping invasion, with overseas shopping sites intensely and intently aiming their advertising squarely at Australian shoppers.” She adds that “These international shopping sites are often found on the first page of online search results, which means shoppers don’t feel the need to look any further. If the cost appears reasonable then they will go ahead and purchase from overseas.”
To counter this price illusion, Gabbi conducted a comparison of 9 randomly selected (commonly purchased overseas) items. She used current search results generated on behalf of Shlimbo customer enquiries – the results come as no surprise to Gabbi, but are themselves, very intriguing.
“Australian Shoppers and Businesses will be surprised, that 2/3rds of the items are clearly less expensive or similarly priced within Australia. Only 3 items were cheaper overseas. However, 1 of those 3 has a value add which, when applied, more than addresses the price differential. Considering the results from this small randomised sample, it's reasonable to assert Australians get better value shopping here 77% of the time!” said Gabbi.
“Although these results are encouraging for Australian retail, an inordinate amount of time together with some expertise & patience is required. Whilst I’ve searched through multiple online pages of information to find the best price here, most people would have stopped at page one.
“If you’re in business in Australia and you’re serious about being found online, just building a website isn’t going to get you on page one of search results without additional advertising and running costs. For Australian shoppers it’s simple - if they can’t find what they want online or in a shopfront at the price they want, they perceive that item simply doesn’t exist here at that price.
“There are other options out there like social networking, which can give business an online presence without huge expenditure. The foundation for Shlimbo was based on these types of important factors, thereby providing an inexpensive way to be online that also combines social networks. Any Australian business can now show new customers in unprecedented ways, what they do have, and what they can offer.”
