Ecommerce in Australia is expected to top $10 million by the end of 2015, and as much as 45% of all online purchases in New Zealand come through international sellers! It is no surprise, then, that online marketplaces in the southern hemisphere, such as Trade Me in New Zealand, are becoming increasingly popular among online players located in the UK and Europe.
In this blog, we will explore why the southern hemisphere is an appealing sales opportunity for online retailers, especially for those in the fashion sector – an industry that is defined by rapidly changing trends, excessive product variety and high dependence on seasonality.
Shoppers located in the southern hemisphere enjoy opposite seasons to those in the northern part of the globe. This means that UK and European retailers can take advantage of lucrative sales channels in New Zealand and Australia to sell any leftover or excessive stock from the previous season collections.
As fashion trends in countries from the southern hemisphere fall one ‘fashion season’ behind, UK retailers looking to clear out any leftovers will be actually offering products that are currently trending in that part of the world. So, they don’t have to worry about providing discounts or running special price promotions.
Online shoppers in Australia and New Zealand are highly accustomed to purchasing their outfits and fashion accessories from international sellers, as they look for greater brand and product variety that local online retailers can’t offer.
This certainly means that fashion lovers in the southern hemisphere are also more keen on paying higher online retail prices, covering the full cost of shipping and waiting for longer delivery times to put their hands on products they can’t get hold of at home.
As consumers in Australia and New Zealand are English speaking and have similar tastes to buyers in the UK and Europe, online retailers don’t have to worry about localising their product offerings to the extent they would need to, if they were selling to China or the Middle East, for example.
Together these elements mean that marketplaces located in the southern hemisphere are an incredible online sales opportunity, and present UK and European fashion retailers with highly lucrative and approachable selling platforms.
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