Australian tech retailer JB Hi-Fi has seen its online sales triple during the pandemic, with e-commerce revenue 2.6 times higher in the first half of 2021 compared to the previous year. Despite this surge, most customers still preferred to shop in physical stores.
CEO Richard Murray stated that brick-and-mortar stores remain crucial, as customers tend to purchase more when visiting in person. 'The harsh reality is when customers come in store we sell them more and they buy more,' he told news.com.au. He noted that most stores generate around $20 million in annual turnover.
Murray attributed the online growth to lockdowns, particularly in Victoria, where prolonged restrictions encouraged more people to shop online. However, the company faced stock shortages, especially for 75-inch televisions, due to shipping delays from China, which impacted January sales.
While Australian consumers have been slower to adopt online shopping compared to the US, UK, Japan, and Germany, Murray believes the pandemic may have permanently shifted habits. 'In Victoria, given the prolonged period of the lockdown, more people have decided to shop online and maybe got more comfortable with that than other states,' he said.
