Till game needs both sides of net divide

BUSTLING: Art Deco Centre general manager Sally Jackson says there are few empty stores in Napier. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

A Napier business leader says online retailers and bricks-and-mortar stores aren't mutually exclusive, and savvy retailers need two "faces" to thrive.
The latest BNZ Marketview online spending report shows a combined 7.6 per cent growth in online spending for Hawke's Bay, reflecting a 29.2 per cent growth in purchases made from international websites balanced by a -0.1 per cent downturn in domestic online spending.
Spending on New Zealand websites still accounts for 68.3 per cent of online shopping, however.
Sally Jackson is general manager of Art Deco Centre, a Napier trust with a physical premises and online shop.
Mrs Jackson said the end of brick-and-mortar shops is "a reality with certain businesses [but] many have a retail front and an online aspect as well.
"Just talking from our own perspective, we see it as important to have both faces."
Napier's city centre is bustling, with few empty stores, but Mrs Jackson said "it's up to us to grab hold of patterns".
"We've invested in our online shop: Website, portal, better photography to ensure items to look good online. For example, we generate our own art deco rugs designed on buildings around the city. They used to walk off the floor 10 years ago. Now because we're telling our story online, retail sales of those have been increasing. People don't need to see them in store, just online."
Online spending in Hawke's Bay is uniquely affected by the appeal of art deco. Tourists - particularly older Americans - strengthen in-store spending because Napier is a cruise ship port, Mrs Jackson noted, although slight reductions have occurred in spending within her shop per person.
Marketview managing director Stephen Bridle said his report also shows online spending doubled nationwide over the past five years. The strongest growth rates are coming from older consumers shopping on international websites.
A growth in spending at physical stores compared to this time last year has been outstripped by the 9 per cent annual growth in online spending at local merchants - not to mention a 20 per cent rise in purchases from offshore retailers (compared to September 2013.)
Mr Bridle said Marketview's figures were explained by the older demographic of shoppers becoming confident they will not get ripped off if they shop online, and having more time to spend on the internet.
Mr Bridle noted that a third of businesses don't have an online presence, and echoed the idea that an online presence is not just about selling. "[Stores] need to have an online presence now not just for shopping sales, but also for research."