Week in review: 28 April edition
Welcome to a new series, where editor Heather McIlvaine reviews the week’s top stories to help you get all the news fast.
Last week’s announcement that Amazon Marketplace will be launching in Australia continued to set off a wave of reactions this week, with many online retailers issuing statements about its potential impact on their business.
Internet Retailing spoke to Tony Nash, CEO and founder of Booktopia, and Paul Greenberg, CEO of the National Online Retailers Association, to find out more about the pros and cons of selling through Amazon, including whether FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) is really worth it.
As if to underline its offering to Australian retailers, Amazon itself reported a 23 per cent increase in sales in its first-quarter this week. Notably, while the pace of growth in revenue from retail products has slowed, revenue from retail services – including Amazon Prime subscription fees – grew by 50 per cent.
Closer to home, Australian e-retailer Kogan.com upgraded its forecast for 2017 for the third time since launching on the ASX nine months ago, while local luxury fashion retailer Parlour X relaunched its e-commerce site.
Ikea Australia rolled out a same-day click and collect service in Canberra in response to customer demand. The furniture retailer says it has sold enough stock online since November of last year to fill two Olympic swimming pools.
Internet Retailing also spoke to Gary Elphick, CEO and founder of Disrupt Sports, as part of a new weekly Q&A series with our 2017 Top 50 People in E-Commerce. In addition to recounting his school-age start in e-commerce, Elphick explains why he’s against the new GST law for low-value imports.
Kathrin Bain, a lecturer at UNSW’s School of Taxation & Business Law, agrees that the new law will not level the playing field, as the government promises, in an article we republished from The Conversation.
That’s all for this week. Have a good weekend!
Let us know what you think about our week in review series in the comments section, or at iretnews<@>octomedia.com.au.
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