Nearly every Australian adult — 98 per cent of us — still walks into a physical store to shop. At the same time, 81 per cent of us pull out a phone or open a laptop to research what we’re buying before we ever set foot in that store. According to Shopfully’s State of Shopping report, the idea that bricks and mortar are dying doesn’t match what shoppers actually do. The question isn’t whether physical retail survives. It’s how it functions when nearly every customer arrives with digital research already done.
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Post-Covid inflation and cost-of-living pressure have made Australian shoppers more deliberate. They plan trips more carefully and compare options before leaving the house. Hybrid models like click and collect, buy-online-pick-up-in-store, and even boot delivery have moved from niche conveniences to standard expectations in a competitive market. The store still matters. But it matters differently than it did a decade ago. Here’s what you actually need to know.
What the Data Actually Tells Us
The shift isn’t from offline to online. It’s from separate channels to connected ones. The term for this is omnichannel retail, where digital tools and physical stores function as a single system rather than competing options. What the data shows is that shoppers use digital to plan and decide, then use the store to complete and collect. A customer might browse a digital catalogue on their phone at breakfast, compare prices on a desktop at lunch, and pick up the item from a store on the way home. Each touchpoint feeds the next. Brendan Straw, country manager for Shopfully Australia, puts it plainly: digital tools now influence decision-making at the very point when shoppers are planning their trips. What tends to make sense for a retailer facing this reality is to treat the online experience as an extension of the store and the store as a fulfilment of the online journey. Neither works well alone.
What Happens When Retailers Misread the Shift
The cost of misreading this data is concrete. A retailer that invests heavily in online advertising but neglects the in-store experience captures the 81 per cent who research but may lose them at the point of purchase if the store doesn’t match what the digital journey promised. Conversely, a retailer that insists physical presence alone is enough ignores the 81 per cent who arrive with research already done. If your store doesn’t show up in that research, it may not show up on their route at all.
Post-Covid price sensitivity adds another layer. Shoppers are more deliberate and more likely to compare. A store that can’t integrate with digital comparison tools, or that lacks clear online pricing and availability, gets filtered out before the customer even arrives. The research from the Shopfully report shows how inflation has reshaped shopping habits, with consumers planning more and spending more carefully. Retailers who ignore this planning phase lose the chance to influence the decision before the customer enters a competitor’s store.
Where Retail Strategies Fall Short
Treating Online and In-Store as Separate Businesses
This is the most common gap. A retailer runs its ecommerce team and its store team as separate units with separate goals. The online site might show different prices, different stock levels, or different promotions than the store. The customer notices immediately. The research shows 81 per cent of shoppers use digital to research before purchase — if what they find online doesn’t match what they see in store, trust drops. What I tend to notice is that this silo problem costs more in lost confidence than most retailers measure. Fixing it means unifying inventory systems, pricing, and promotion calendars across channels. It’s not a technology problem first — it’s a structural one.
Going Digital-Only and Abandoning Physical Presence
With 98 per cent of consumers still shopping in physical stores, deciding to close retail locations in favour of pure online selling cuts you off from the overwhelming majority of transactions. The store isn’t just a place to buy — it’s where discovery happens, where brand loyalty is built, and where online orders are collected. The research positions physical stores as experience centres and hubs for online order fulfilment. Purely digital retailers miss the data that stores generate on consumer behaviour — foot traffic patterns, dwell times, and local preferences that feed back into the omnichannel loop.
Ignoring Catalogues and Circular Marketing
It’s easy to write off catalogues as old media. But 37 per cent of consumers still use them to inspire and plan shopping trips. Digital catalogues have evolved into targeted tools that retailers can use to reach shoppers at the planning stage. Ignoring this channel means missing more than a third of shoppers at the exact moment they’re deciding where to go. The fix is straightforward: move from printed circulars to digital catalogues that integrate with your online inventory and store locator, so a browse can turn into a store visit with one tap.
Building a Retail Model That Works in 2025
Mapping the Digital-to-Store Journey
The 81 per cent who research online don’t do it randomly. They use search, comparison sites, social media, catalogues, and retailer apps. The job for a retailer is to be present in those channels with accurate information — stock levels, price, location, and pickup options. If a customer searches for a product and finds it listed as in stock three suburbs away, but the store doesn’t actually have it, that’s a failure in the digital-to-store handoff. Tools like Shopify’s multichannel sales features can help sync inventory across online and physical locations, but the principle is more important than the platform: the information the customer sees online must be what they find in store.
Making Click and Collect a Core Channel
What was once a pandemic workaround is now standard behaviour. Shoppers expect to buy online and pick up in store, often within hours. This model turns the store into a fulfilment hub and drives foot traffic — once a customer arrives to collect, they frequently make additional purchases. The research confirms that hybrid models like click and collect are now mainstream and no longer optional. For a business setting this up for the first time, the mechanics are straightforward: allocate a dedicated pickup point in store, integrate the ordering system with real-time inventory, and communicate clearly with the customer at each step — order received, ready for collection, collected.
Using Digital Catalogues as a Bridge
Catalogues have been reinvented. Instead of a printed booklet that arrives once a week, digital catalogues can be personalised, geo-targeted, and linked directly to inventory. The 37 per cent of shoppers who use them are actively planning — they want to know what’s available, at what price, and where. A digital catalogue that lets a customer click through to a store locator or check stock at their nearest location turns browsing into foot traffic. This is where retailers can bring together the planning phase and the purchase phase without friction.
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| Touchpoint | Consumer Adoption | Key Role in the Journey |
|---|---|---|
| In-store visit | 98% | Final purchase, experience, and brand connection |
| Digital research | 81% | Planning, price comparison, and stock checking |
| Catalogue browsing | 37% | Inspiration and trip planning |
| Click and collect | Mainstream | Bridges online discovery with physical fulfilment |
Preparing for What Comes Next
Consumer behaviour keeps evolving. The post-Covid trends toward price sensitivity and planned shopping aren’t fading — they’re hardening into permanent habits. The next phase likely involves deeper personalisation, where digital tools anticipate what a shopper needs before they search. For retailers, the groundwork is the same: clean, unified data across channels, real-time inventory visibility, and a store experience that rewards the effort of visiting in person. Weak distribution channels will become more visible as customers expect seamless handoffs between online and store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth opening a physical store in Australia right now? ▾
What’s the biggest mistake small retailers make with click and collect? ▾
Are printed catalogues worth keeping in 2025? ▾
How do I measure if my omnichannel strategy is working? ▾
Can a small business afford omnichannel retail tools? ▾
Will AI change how physical stores operate in Australia? ▾
What the Hybrid Model Means for Your Business
The data from the Shopfully report settles one argument convincingly: bricks and mortar aren’t dead. They’re just no longer the start of the shopping journey. Digital is where the customer begins, and the store is where they finish. The businesses that will hold up best over the next few years are the ones that treat their online presence and their physical stores as one operation with the same pricing, the same stock data, and the same customer experience. The alternative — running them as separate worlds — creates friction that price-sensitive, research-heavy shoppers will feel immediately and avoid next time.
Remember: this article is general information only. For advice on your specific situation, speak to a qualified professional.
If this was useful, you might also want to read Challenges of Weak Supplier Evaluation in Australia.
Sources and Further Reading
Building a Strong Brand in a Competitive Australian Market — Practical brand strategy for retailers navigating the hybrid shopping environment.
Shopfully (2025). The State of Shopping 2025: From clicks to bricks — How Aussies blend online and offline shopping. 🔗
