Source: ITWire

Story By: Beverley Head

Australian retailers are facing a “paradigm shift” of such magnitude that it is likely 30 percent of all electrical goods sales will be made online within three to five years according to the head of Woolworths’ online initiatives.

Speaking at the Cebit retail conference, Daniel Roberts, Woolworths’ head of online, warned that companies which didn’t acknowledge the change could suffer rapidly declining revenues and market share. Mr Roberts who has launched online retail sites for Woolworths brands Dan Murphy’s, Dick Smith and Big W in the last year would not be drawn on when the grocery chain itself might offer online shopping.

However he said that Woolworths’; “CEO and executive leadership are 100 per cent behind this”. He also confirmed that; “Woolworths has spent multi millions developing a multi-channel platform,” leaving the audience in no doubt that online grocery shopping was now a matter of when rather than if for Woolworths.

He acknowledged that: “The question going on now is which categories to focus on.”

 

To read the full story, follow this link: www.itwire.com/business-it-news/networking/47554-woolworths-warns-of-retail-paradigm-shift