How Aussie e-commerce execs stack up against their global peers

Heather McIlvaine

25th Oct 2017

Australian e-commerce executives are more interested in adopting new technology than their overseas counterparts, but less effective at leveraging data for business decisions.

This is the finding of a new survey of Australian, Canadian, American and British e-commerce executives working in businesses with 200 or more employees.

Conducted by research firm Demand ROI on behalf of Oracle + Bronto, the survey provides insight into the minds of e-commerce executives, including their current priorities, biggest obstacles, mobile strategy, channels and tools used to drive sales and areas of future investment.

The report, which will be released next week, shows Australian e-commerce retailers are on track or even ahead of the curve in many areas, according to Shannon Ingrey, general manager of Oracle + Bronto APAC.

“We’re seeing that Australian e-commerce retailers are doing a lot right, but there is still more to be done,” he told Internet Retailing.

“Our research shows that while Australian e-commerce retailers are finding ways to be successful in an ever-expanding global market, they still struggle with understanding and appreciating the rapid rise of mobile for researching and shopping. Improving in this area in the coming months/years will be crucial to driving further growth.”

For instance, adopting new technology is the top priority for 35 per cent of Australian respondents, compared to 21 per cent of all other countries surveyed.

Customer loyalty and retention is a priority for nearly a third of Australian e-commerce executives, which is roughly in line with all other countries surveyed.

When it comes to increasing sales, however, Australian e-commerce executives are more likely to say social media has a bigger impact than email marketing, compared to e-commerce executives in other countries.

Australian e-commerce leaders are in line with their counterparts on mobile commerce, with roughly half of all respondents saying it’s critical for the future of their brand, though they are less likely to have a dedicated mobile strategy or invest in the mobile experience.

They also rate themselves as less effective at leveraging data for business decisions. Forty-nine per cent of Australian respondents said they were very effective at doing so, compared to 61 per cent of others.

Digging into this a little deeper, Aussie respondents said their biggest challenges are the cost and complexity of tools, linking online and offline data and the lack of people and expertise for analysis.

Meanwhile, they say changing demographics, consumer privacy concerns, economic conditions and international regulations are their biggest external concerns.

If money and time were no object, most Australian e-commerce executives would focus on one-click buying and selling on emerging social channels.

The report including all findings from the survey will be available next week.