eTail Australia 2025 Blog

In this interview in collaboration with Juan Mendoza from The Martech Weekly, we go "down-under" on the changing landscape of retail media in Australia with Adam Freedman, the Chief Brand & Communications Officer at the beloved Aussie brand Booktopia, including the debacle of what's better, brand or performance marketing.

The Martech Weekly's CEO, Juan Mendoza explores how Generative AI improves customer experience by ensuring message uniformity and offers a creative boost, aiding in campaign ideation. He dismisses job displacement fears, stating that AI enhances productivity and creates more opportunities for marketers. He envisions these tools as margin boosters, aiming to reduce marketing costs. Speaking at eTail Australia, Mendoza will delve into the transformative impact of Generative AI on customer experience and marketing strategies.

The transformation of the Australian Privacy Act: a regulatory disturbance not confined to the Australian nation, but impacts businesses and brands worldwide. The reverberations of this overhaul are creating ripples across the e-commerce landscape. It’s not just a question of compliance for survival: the stakes are much higher. We’ve got a few pointers on how early adaptation can give you an edge over your competition. What are some immediate changes you can make to ensure compliance and stay ahead of the curve?

Inflation is on the rise and back in the spotlight, and it's putting Australian retailers on their toes. As of November 7, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised its key interest rate to the highest it's been in 12 years. The higher interest rates are influencing consumer spending habits, leading to more cautious purchasing decisions, which in turn could result in reduced sales and profit margins for retailers who don’t adapt.

In this guide, we will lay out the best strategies for retailers during inflation so they can stay agile and successful.

As we are moving closer to the year 2024, the Australian retail sector is witnessing a significant shift in its advertising landscape through the rise of retail media. This emerging trend, already a fast-growing revenue generator for retailers in the U.S., is now gaining momentum in Australia. It is reshaping the traditional marketing approaches.

In this article you will explore the transformative role of retail media in Australia's 2024 retail sector. Discover strategies for precise targeting and enhanced consumer engagement. 

In this blog, we hear from Overdose Digital on how companies can utilise a full-funnel marketing strategy to reach their customer and to stay at theit customer's top of mind. We dive into how companies should focus on ensuring a proper balance between digital marketing and organic traffic and how companies can add this to their advantage. 

Customer Service is about more than meets the eye and shouldn’t be underestimated,. We hear what Kate Hartigan, Chief Marketing Officer at The Blue Space and Carina Anderson, Head of Strategic Partnerships & Optimisation at Naked Wines AU have to share about how you can build, run and maintain great customer service teams with transparent communication, teamwork, workplace environment and shared goals. After all, they are a powerful force to turn satisfied customers into repeat businesses.

In this exclusive eTail Australia 2023 post-event discussion, we sat down with Raven Addei, Partnerships & Brand Lead at Overdose, and Marta Skrabacz, Digital & eCommerce Lead at Godiva ANZ to find out what up-and-coming brands are doing in the marketing world, from the different experiences they provide for consumers both in-store and online, to the importance of maintaining a business with local digital agencies.

In a post-event discussion with Sush Padhye from TotalTools, and Marta Skrabacz from Godiva ANZ, we dive into sizzling questions everyone wants to know, such as profit & loss profitability challenges within the online space, and Australia's initiatives to implement customer data protection laws!

In this exclusive infographic with Sush Padye from TotalTools and Suhaib Anwar from MyDeals, we cover topics such as digital literacy vs adaptive mindset, and more!

It is highly important that we find the critical touchpoints in a customer's journey that can help to impact their satisfaction and loyalty. In this interview, we hear from Negar Mokhtarnia, Director of Product at Pet Circle and Alison O'Loughlinm, Head of Digital Marketing & Data at AAT, Kings Group & Adventure World on the key opportunities for innovation and improvement in the understanding the customer's journey. We also delve into how cookies are being used in the customer mapping journey and how CRM data can be personalised. 

"FIRESIDE CHAT: ChatGPT - Revolutionary, overhyped, or the coming of a "Terminator" (of jobs)?" In this post-event infographic, we sat down with Robin Losson from Bond-eye Australia, Paco Albie from Digital Immersion, and Juan De La Pava from Digital Immersion, to uncover the answers the audience to questions that had the audience on the edge of their seats!

In this interview with Eadie Lifestyle, we dive deep down into how disasters can spell opportunities. With problems arising due to the loss of revenue, employee and partners management, and supply chain and delivery disruptions, what actions have they taken to protect themselves when the unforeseeable happens again?

With over 20 years of digital marketing experience and winning Inside Retail’s Top 50 People in E-Commerce, Mal Chia talks about key topics such as the increased importance of understanding behvioural and purchase analysis to improve upselling and why all marketers’ need to go back to the basis of asking “WHY?”

In this era, digital advertising is King!

Catch what Sush Padhye, National Loyalty Manager from Total Tools, takes us in depth into how the landscape has changed over the years and into the various techniques on how you can increase ROI. In addition, he also highlights how you can optimise your landing page and different things you should look out for in reducing media waste.

In this exclusive Q&A, Robin Losson from Bond-Eye Australia Group shares with us how the brand is making its waves on international waters, how they're working towards an increased brand visibility while staying true to their earth-loving mission, their sustainable practices that goes hand-in-hand with profitability, the start of their AI-driven journey, and so much more!

Carousell is a top marketplace for secondhand goods in SEA which has become synonymous with reselling and their focus on creating a community. In this guest post by Vinol Joy D'souza, their Head of Business Analytics, he explains how Carousell uses data and technology to approach the fuzzy complex problem of seller segmentation, key performance metrics they monitor closely, and what they have put in place to futureproof themselves. He also muses about the absurdities that have appeared on the platform in recent times. 

eCommerce has become a part of our lives with everything being just the click of a button away. Founded in 2003, The Nile Group has grown to become one of the biggest eCommerce sites in Australia providing over 40 million products for their customers all over the world. Chief Executive Officer of The Nile Group, Jethro Marks gives an exclusive insight on what strategies he has used to stay relevant in today's consumer world and the tools he uses to set The Nile Group apart from the other marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. He highlights the consumer trends that are rising in the coming months and key tips you need to stay competitive against fellow online retailers. .

Booktopia is a homegrown Australian online bookstore, founded in 2004 and the only company to ever achieve being listed in the AFR/BRW's Fast 100 eight times!  In this interview, Adam Freedman, Head of Brand and Communications of Booktopia explains why partnerships are a cornerstone of their business model, the unique UX & CX proposition deeply integrated into booktopia DNA and why social media is a key channel to engage different audiences, maximise connections with authors, in leveraging influence over their audience base and to drive traffic to the Booktopia website.

Dhruv leads B2B Digital & eCommerce for 3M in Asia. In this interview, we spoke to Dhruv about the ANZ eCommerce landscape and how as a B2B enterprise, 3M have integrated AI into their digital marketing strategy to overcome the predominantly B2C seller environment. He expands on identifying the right customer personas through the use of customer data, the ways 3M have utilized virtual and augmented reality and the key success factors he uses to evaluate his marketing campaigns.

Consumers are looking for ways to cut down on spending, with a shift towards cheaper private label products over national ones. A prominent brand, Amino Z, popular due to its extensive range of research-based and results-driven supplements, has garnered a strong following of ardent fans. Their CEO, Jay Bonaretti – one of Top 50 Small Business Leaders in 2022 – goes in-depth on private labelling when competing with other powerhouse brands, speaking about the rights, the wrongs and its potential growth in Australia’s niche market. 

Founded in 2004, Everten was one of the first online kitchenware retailers in Australia which has grown to become Australia's #1 family online kitchenware. In this exclusive interview, David Kahn - Marketing Director, Everten Group gives an inside look at how Everten achieved success through UX obsession and harnessing data to inform every step. David highlights his future goals for Everten in Asia and how they have raised CX through staff training that emphasises knowing all aspects of the business. 

Join Mark Baartse in this exclusive interview as we peer into the future of Australian retail and ecommerce. As CMO & Ecommerce Marketing Consultant with decades of experience helping companies to grow - Mark highlights how brands can prepare for potential turbulence and offers AI use cases that have led to vast effeciencies. Mark unveils key differentiators between the Australian and SEA markets whilst sharing what he finds most impactful about eTail Australia 

Frame Paladsang is a charismatic, driven, over-achiever with a track record of eCommerce super success! As Digital Marketing and eCommerce Specialist at Chemcorp International, Frame manages over 24 brands, across nine online stores. In this interview, Frame tells us how she has captured the hearts of Gen Z and millennial shoppers, the way to make your brand come to life in hyper-competitive marketplaces like Amazon and how she used innovation and creativity to increase conversion of existing traffic, reducing unnecessary spending in an effort to attract new customers.

Retail customers today are engaging across many platforms and channels, which necessitates a strategy which leverages the absolute best potential from each. Whether your customers are engaging with your brand online through your ecommerce website or social media channels, or walking through the doors of a physical store, they want to be confident they are going to receive a seamless experience throughout.

This is where an omnichannel strategy comes in. With a holistic strategy which maximizes the value from all channels – both digital and physical – the modern retailer can ensure customers are having terrific shopping experiences, wherever in the world they happen to be at the time.

With all that in mind, it seems an opportune moment to pause and assess the current state of omnichannel retail in Australia and take a look forwards and predict what the future holds for the region.

Inflation is the major challenge facing Australian retailers this year. With inflation rates reaching 7.3% in the country, many retailers are trapped between that well-known rock and a hard place. On one hand, they’re noticing the cost of doing business increasing. On the other hand, their consumers are searching for bargains and cutting back on discretionary spending, as inflation is taking a massive chunk of their budgets.

In this article, we look at a few strategic ways you can help your business weather through inflation.

The word cult is rarely ascribed to describe anything positive. However, when discussing the sometimes-fanatical relationship people can have with their favorite brands, the term is almost always associated with increased brand awareness, boosts to revenue, and a dedicated and engaged audience – something all retailers would love to achieve.

Cult brands should not be confused with fads. Fads are short-lived and burn out fast, whereas cult brands are built on long-term strategic thinking and relationships. However, most retailers out there would like to foster at least a portion of the dedication and engagement these kinds of brands enjoy, so let’s see what lessons we can take from them and apply to our own strategies in the future. 

In this article we discuss the top retail strategies you can take from cult brands:

As the world wakes up to the importance of sustainability, Australian brands are increasingly looking to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into their operations. Brands are being driven towards ESG by more than altruistic sentiment. Consumer shopping habits and buying decisions are increasingly being oriented toward purpose as opposed to being driven by price.

In this article, we discuss the rise of green retail in Australia and its impact. 

A world leader in travel goods, Samsonite is a brand we’ve come to love because of their focus on usability and durability – making travel so much easier! For the past 111 years, Samsonite has been at the forefront in innovating its luggages, having garnered a loyal customer base and countless industry accolades.

In this exclusive interview with eTail Australia, we speak with Marcio Oliveira, General Manager, Business Strategy at Samsonite who tells us how Samsonite had to recalibrate its strategy to come out stronger after the pandemic, advocating on the brands’ belief in sustainability and developing a brand identity that stands out in a competitive market. Samsonite continues to invest in innovation, a core approach in its strategy over the years, accelerating its growth under the long-standing leadership of those like Marcio.

In collaboration with our eTail Australia media partner Parcel Monitor, we take a look at how peak season shopping has been impacted by Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year, which overtook Boxing Day sales in 2020. Read on to discover how peak season 2021 actually went down for Australian retailers, as we spoke to some of our eTail Australia speakers to find out!

Fulfilment, delivery and supply chain are one of the greatest challenges for Australian retailers. In this blog, we outline the strategies to streamline the order fulfilment process, how to proactively anticipate and react to delivery delays without passing on the shipping costs to customers, and the future trends that retailers need to bear in mind when planning for the future.

Recently conducted research shows that the experience of lockdowns has led to a range of changes in the way consumers shop. Retailers marketing to Australia and New Zealand must adapt and innovate because as we move forward, simply having an online presence is no longer enough. Read on to find out the new imperatives for ANZ retailers, and a case study on how the Australia-based brand Princess Polly capitalised on social commerce to appeal to their customer base.

Is Sustainability part of your brand story? If it’s not, then it should be -- because sustainability sells, and appeals to customers. According to some market analysts, people now expect the companies they engage with to look beyond their financial stakeholders to their own impact on society as a whole. More significantly, 80% of customers are more loyal to companies with “good ethics,” while 68% of customers won’t buy from companies with “questionable ethics”.

Technology has given marketers a diverse range of tools to develop strategies, create content, and reach out to their audience. With such a wealth of options, it can be easy for marketers to lose sight of which channels are performing well, and difficult to know which ones to prioritise in understanding and optimising the customer journey.

A marketing technology or martech stack is a group of technologies that marketers can use to implement, analyse, and improve their marketing across the customer life cycle. These technologies enable marketers to improve internal collaboration, measure the impact of their marketing activities, and reach customers in new ways.

A recent survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that Australians are feeling more time-poor than ever, with 45% of women and 36% of men feeling “always” or “often” rushed, or “pressed for time”. Instantaneous access, instant gratification, and the “always on, always open” economy place the emphasis on speed, for consumers in all market sectors.

Baskin Robbins has always taken a product focused approach to its marketing but has recently changed that ethos in response to the changing habits of its customers.