Westfield goes virtual with online mall
Simon Canning
From: TheAustralian
November 17, 2010
NOW you can shop 'til your mouse finger drops after Westfield unveiled its answer to eBay with its own virtual shopping mall.
With eBay pushing its brand with an advertising campaign declaring "Browse at Westfield, Buy on eBay'', the mall giant is hitting back with its own one-stop-shop where consumers will be able to buy from multiple Westfield retailers with a single transaction.
Group managing director Steven Lowy unveiled the website with the frank admission that while he believed in its potential, he has little idea how popular it might prove with shoppers.
Westfield created a virtual shopping site more than a decade ago, but it never went live.
Already more than 50 retailers have signed virtual leases with Westfield including JB Hi Fi, Cellarmasters, Borders, Supre, Witchery, Jeanswest and Speedo where shoppers will be able to browse, compare and buy merchandise without ever leaving the site.
"Our first step into online shopping poses both challenges as well as enormous opportunities to develop our business in new ways and will bring a new dimension to Australian online retail,'' Mr Lowy 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.''
The website will allow shoppers to compare products, filter searches and place purchases in a virtual shopping cart where they will be able to pay with a single credit card transaction.
People who register with the site will be given shopping suggestions based on their browsing and shopping history.
About 70 per cent of the stores joining the site are already Westfield tenants, while about 15 per cent are pure online retailers.
Westfield has plans to extend the store to overseas markets and believes it could create an opportunity for Australian retailers to tap into the US and UK.
The company expects to have more than 100 stores operating on the Westfield site within a couple of months.
source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/westfield-goes-virtual-with-online-mall/story-e6frg996-1225955123914
references:
1. one-stop-shop: 一站式购物
2. tap into the US and UK: 进入美国和英国市场
3. 世界最大零售集团开开设网络购物中心挑战eBay