Need clothing, homeware, outdoor furniture or electronics? Chances are you will buy it from international powerhouses Temu, Shein or Amazon. Roy Morgan research shows Temu now holds almost one-fifth of the Aussie retail market, with 3.8 million people making at least one purchase in a year.
Fast-fashion retailer Shein now has more than two million Aussies shopping there, while Amazon remains dominant with 7.9 million shoppers. Market researchers think Amazon, which has about 10 per cent of the market, will lift to at least 25 per cent by 2030.
Such is the rise of these foreign players that in just under two years since Chinese retailers Temu and Shein launched in Australia, they have already claimed their biggest victim in the Wesfarmers owned and operated marketplace Catch. Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said the business was unable to compete with the intense competition from overseas brands. “The recent increase in competitive intensity in the Australian e-commerce sector has affected Catch’s financial performance and growth prospects,” he said in a statement to the ASX.
Mr Scott said other Wesfarmers brands were better equipped to deal with difficult retail environment Pattern Australia managing director Merline McGregor said the Australian market was small and faced intense competition. “There’s not enough of the Australian market to have many businesses doing the same thing, so they all have to find their niche and what they can talk to the consumer ab.