While the coronavirus crushed industries around the world in 2020, some proved there were financial gains to be made in harnessing the power of the pandemic. And it seems no one did this better than online retailers, many of which experienced a surge in sales and a tidy profit for their pockets thanks to bored Aussies sitting at home adding items to their virtual carts.
Now, the winners and losers of the online retail game for 2020 have been revealed and one of Australia’s favourite mega-stores took out the top spot.
Power Retail has revealed home improvement giant Bunnings Warehouse snagged the crown for the first time ever due to the the surge in home improvements among Australians stuck in lockdown last year.
“Bunnings Warehouse was a major winner online from Covid-19, with a massive leap in traffic and sales that propelled Bunnings ahead of the supermarket duopoly for the first time ever,” Power Retail said. “A laggard to online, Bunnings most definitely arrived and then some in 2020, with click and collect, plus its marketplace offering seeing an enormous surge.”
Supermarket giant Woolworths was next on the list, followed by cheap and cheerful retailer Kmart. Coles, Kogan, Catch, Target, Chemist Warehouse, Officeworks and JB-HI-FI rounded out the top 10. Other well-known retailers on the list included Big W, Myer, homewares and furniture store Temple & Webster, Swedish furniture giant IKEA, Cotton On, Dan Murphy’s, Harvey Norman, online fashion retailer The Iconic, Microsoft and Rebel. Supercheap Auto, The Good Guys, Spotlight, BCF and Anaconda rounded out the top 25.
Each retailer was scored on a number of different categories including search capabilities, shopper time on site, accessibility, delivery options, payment options, pages viewed by session, site performance, rate of mobile users, mobile app success, login capabilities and net promoter score.
Grant Arnott, managing director of Power Retail, said the pandemic forced more Australians online than ever before.
“It’s been very impressive to watch how brands have adapted quickly to the high demand,” he said. “Retailers that led the charge, including Bunnings, JB Hi Fi and Officeworks, did well because they learnt to diversify their networks and not just rely on one channel for success. Electrical, essentials and sports were the major upward movers in 2020, with Microsoft jumping 24 spots, and Rebel, BCF and Anaconda climbing into the Top 25. Covid really flipped the board as some of the stronger fashion brands struggled with supply and sales, and so we have seen a major shake-up in this year’s list.
In fact, according to Australia Post’s 2020 Inside Australian Online Shopping Report, growth in online shopping was up by 57 per cent from the previous year, with Aussies spending a record $50.46 billion online. And an average of one million additional households shopped online every month compared to 2019.
Australia’s top 25 online retailers:
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