Online sales ease trade slump

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Online sales ease trade slump

LEONGATHA businesses are turning to online retailing to not only make a buck, but also remain open.
More and more retailers are opening online stores to extend their customer base and increase revenue during hard economic times.
Great Southern Outdoors has sold more than 10,000 items in the past six years alone through internet shopping hub eBay.
Store proprietor Graeme O’Connor said, “Without it, I would have had to close the business a long time ago.
“More people in Leongatha are spending money online so we have to get more dollars from elsewhere to pay our bills.
“People need to realise it’s pretty tough for retailers in Leongatha at the moment. There is more empty floorspace in Bair Street than there is full.”
His eBay store lists more than 2500 items for sale, with clothing the biggest sellers, and travel pillows, snake bite kits and fox whistles also popular.
Mr O’Connor has even sold liquid chalk – usually used by arborists and horse riders to increase grip – to people enjoying pole dancing for fitness.
Surprisingly, people living in Leongatha, Inverloch, Wonthaggi and Foster have bought goods from the store online, despite the shop being in Leongatha.
“There are different reasons why people shop online. For some people, it’s solely about price and for some people it’s purely convenience. They’re time poor. Some people just hate shopping,” Mr O’Connor said.
He not only operates an eBay store but also a stand alone website that also services sister shop, Great Southern Saddlery, also in Leongatha.
Goods have been sold to Tasmania and even remote mining communities like Newman in Western Australia.
“Most of it is sold to country towns like Leongatha. You name a town and there’s a fair chance I’ve sent something there,” Mr O’Connor said.
Online sales have generated more work, requiring overnight orders to be checked every morning and also product queries to be answered.
“It’s not easy money. There’s a lot of work in processing an order. Cost wise, about 10 per cent of a sale goes to eBay and Pay Pay (money transfer service), so you are not just selling an item. There are expenses that go with it as well,” Mr O’Connor said.
Marriott’s Motorcycles and Power Equipment in Leongatha has been selling goods online for three years.
The business has shipped goods – including motorcycles – around Australia and now has hundreds of spare parts available to customers, regardless of where they live.
Marriott’s Jim Welsh said the website allows the business’ sales on bikes to reach further afield and customers can order spare parts.
“Customers are able to go to the website and look up the items they require and order them, so there is a customer expectation for it,” he said.
While online sales are a small part of the overall business, that department is expanding, Mr Welsh said.
“We are putting on more listings for all makes and models,” he said.
Phone Rite does not have an online store but uses social media site Facebook to promote specials to customers and to reach new customers.
The business sells accessories for mobile phones, smartphones and tablets, and repairs iPads and iPhones.
Proprietor Anthony Walls said, “Facebook is becoming a really big network. For businesses, it is pretty good.

Way of future: Graeme O’Connor of Great Southern Outdoors, Leongatha, prepares to send another online order.

Way of future: Graeme O’Connor of Great Southern Outdoors, Leongatha, prepares to send another online order.

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Posted by on Aug 5 2014. Filed under Business, Featured, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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