By Aimee Chanthadavong
The Westfield Group has launched its first online shopping website, Westfield.com.au, for Australian consumers.
As part of the first stage launch, it will feature more than 100 retailers, not only existing retailers but also ‘brick and mortar’ retailers that are not currently trading in a Westfield centre, as well as retailers who currently operate purely online.
Steven Lowy, group managing director, Westfield Group, said in a statement the online shopping mall will complement the company’s existing retail format.
"The creation of an online mall is simply a new ‘marketplace' which will complement our existing shopping centre business,” he said.
"We believe the real and virtual shopping centres will become mutually reinforcing, with shoppers using both channels to find and buy products from our retailers."
Speaking to Retailbiz, Michelle Vanzella, Westfield director business development, said the online mall will mirror Westfield shopping centres in all aspects from the retail range through to customer service.
“In essence, it’ll basically be the same and we have so far worked to what each retailer’s core business is and their product offering so we understand what they want to offer and provide on Westfield.com.au,” she said.
There will be more than 150,000 products representing over 3,000 brands across multiple categories.
“As with our existing malls, we work to what we believe is the right retail mix just as we would in the centre. However, it is up to the individual retailers what items and inventories stock they want online,” Vanzella said.
Westfield.com.au enables shoppers to search, compare and purchase products from multiple retailers based on category, product, brand, price and size and checkout in one transaction.
According to Vanzella, the online mall could eventually serve a much broader market than its existing Westfield shopping centres.
“There are a lot of opportunities you can imagine internationally and that could extend from international retailers coming into the Australian market but indeed it could mean great opportunities for local retailers to offer their stock to shoppers in the international market,” she said.
The website will also allow shoppers to interact with each other by ‘sharing’ their choices and purchases on Westfield.com.au and via key social media sites.
“Going online, there isn’t an inherit limitation in what can be delivered. It’s about picking the right quality retailer and the right shopping functions that are demanded based on consumer feedback, retailer feedback and their experiences on using the site. These are all standard elements that will go into ensuring we are building the site towards the right direction,” Vanzella said.
The retailers that will that are part of Stage 1 include Sportscraft, Leona Edminston, Supre, Surfstich, Seafolly, RM Williams and Wanted Shoes.