The Christmas throngs may be muted this year as shoppers go online for their gifts.Credit:Anna Kucera
Ruslan Kogan,the chief executive and founder of $2.3 billion online retailer Kogan,toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald retailers had already been experiencing Christmas-like volumes for the last eight months,but he still expected the final quarter of the year to be"massive".
Mr Kogan has spent the last few months building up the inventory level at his business to the highest its ever been in preparation for the end-of-year rush,which he's dubbed the"e-commerce Christmas".
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While events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have increased the number of Australians shopping online for presents in recent years,physical retailers still capture much of the spending in the weeks leading up to December 25. But not this year,says Mr Kogan.
"With social distancing and all the precautions,people aren't going to want to go into a crowded football stadium-like environment at their local shopping centre,"he said.
"So they're going to be doing more and more purchasing online and Christmas sales are going to be shifting earlier and earlier into the year."
This will mean October and November will be bigger than ever for retailers selling goods online,especially as lengthy shipping delays stoke fears of goods arriving on time. On Monday,Australia Post warned it this holiday season would be its busiest ever,and told shoppers to plan ahead.