Stockland Marketplace: an 'endless aisle' for retailers to thrive
Stockland’s new Marketplace ecommerce platform easily allows your business to capture local omnichannel revenue.
As a customer-centric business, we value our shoppers, retail partners and communities, and believe that together we can adapt to and thrive in the dynamic and evolving retail environment.
Our priority is providing our retailers the opportunity to be adaptable to innovation, knowing they have a property management partner that’s committed to their growth.
Trends from across the globe demonstrate the retail landscape has changed, fuelled by consumers changing their shopping habits, retailers investing in their online platforms and technology innovations.
It’s no longer about singular bricks-and-mortar versus online, but rather a blended online and in-store experience. An omnichannel approach is now more important than ever with it being underpinned by the desire from customers to be more in control of their experience, one that is relevant to them and their evolving needs.
From local sentiment to local sales
At Stockland, we understand that retail shoppers are looking for hyperlocal shopping experiences beyond traditional and pure-play online shopping platforms, which make it easier, faster and more convenient to shop locally.
Using market-leading consumer insights and prioritising our changing customer needs, we are excited to launch a new omnichannel product dedicated to remaining at the forefront of the industry: Stockland Marketplace.
Stockland Marketplace aligns with our FY23 digital acceleration strategy as it demonstrates the adoption of digital technology to increase connected customer experiences brought forth by structural changes to retail, and the pandemic experience. It aims to drive in-person experiences and omnichannel growth.
Stockland Marketplace is a ‘virtual shopping centre’ that makes online selling easy for our retailers and works in tandem with your in-store retail business. It is an opportunity for brands and businesses to grow local sales by increasing their omnichannel presence and reach.
More shoppers are buying online, but an even more important trend is that they prefer to buy locally. Stockland Marketplace provides the opportunity to do both.
It’s a world-class* platform for promoting our retailers’ goods to an entirely new online shopper audience with a ‘click-and-collect’ model.
Stockland Marketplace is helping provide the opportunity for businesses in our portfolio to easily have a digital presence at a time when shoppers are spending more online.*
Research suggests that digital penetration and omnichannel retail to continue to grow, with domestic online penetration forecast to grow to 20 percent of total retail sales by 2031.***
Australia Post’s Online Shopping revelations
Australia Post made some significant revelations in its 2022 ecommerce industry report, Inside Australian Online Shopping. It found that 9.2 million Australian households were shopping online in 2021, with four-in-five households (81 percent) buying something online at some point during the year.
The report says Aussie shoppers spent an incredible $62.3 billion on online physical goods in 2021, representing a 19.3 percent share of total retail sales.
The report reinforces that shoppers intend to buy more local products online. It states that 31 percent* of Australian shoppers plan to buy more local products which suggests could be more opportunities to capture local market share.*
It also found that ‘click & collect’ is becoming more common, stating the proportion of click & collect services in online shopping has grown to 13.6 percent*. Its survey data suggests that most respondents chose to click & collect due to its immediacy and lack of associated charges such as shipping.
The birth of Stockland Marketplace
Since the pandemic, trends have emerged that show majority of Australians want to support their local shopping centres and businesses where they can**. Marketplace will allow shoppers to support the local businesses they know and love whilst still being able to leverage the convince that comes with online shopping.
To gauge the market’s interest in Stockland Marketplace, ran a dedicated research session, over a three-day period, deep diving the marketplace opportunity. The overwhelming majority (89 percent) of participating shoppers found the Stockland Marketplace concept appealing or very appealing, and 81 percent were likely, or very likely, to use it.^
Designed for seamless integration, we a have simple onboarding and management options that ensure the Stockland Marketplace experience will be a smooth process. It is a cost-effective way to take your business online and grow sales via an ‘endless aisle’.
Continual digital evolution
In an ever-evolving commercial landscape Stockland remains committed to helping our retailers succeed by offering innovative, world-class solutions that can help provide sustainable growth and cement our Retail Town Centres as exciting, vibrant places that give your business space to thrive.
Using market-leading consumer insights and prioritising our changing customer needs, we will continue to deliver engaging and customer-led experiences in collaboration with our valued retail partners.
Sources
* Aust Post ecommerce industry report 2022
** Closer To Home Study, June 2021
*** Australian Bureau of Statistics; Stockland Research 2021
^ Stockland shopper online behaviour qual research study, November 2021, Stockland Research team.
