Dr Eloise Zoppos, Principal Research Consultant at the (ACRS) Australian Consumer and Retail Studies – Monash Business School, about their latest research that has found traditional bricks and mortar retail stores have surged in popularity post-pandemic, with Australians preferring to shop in-store across most product categories including apparel, personal care and household goods.

However, Australians rate the online shopping experience better, and return more items purchased in-store than online.

“Prior to the pandemic, there was a clear divide amongst shoppers over physical versus online shopping experiences, with the majority of Australian shoppers preferring to use physical stores as their main channel for non-grocery retail purchases,” says Dr Zoppos.

“During COVID-19, online became the main non-grocery retail channel out of necessity and the majority of Australian shoppers turned to online methods, a trend which was accelerated by the pandemic. We’re now seeing the return of a preference for physical stores and shoppers are moving between the offline and online worlds more seamlessly than ever before”.

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