Woolworths, the venerable retailer known the world over, is looking to get bumped up from the back-burner of bricks-and-mortar retail where its reputation presently dwells.
Over the next 24 months, Woolworths will aggressively expand its digital footprint and is aiming to generate $1 billion in online sales by 2014.
To that end, the retailer says it will promote all of its businesses online before 2015 comes to a close.
”Giving customers multiple options isn’t a threat, it’s a huge opportunity, probably the biggest opportunity in retail for many years,” Chief Executive Grant O’Brien says. ”If you can’t recognize that, then you need to question your future in retail. Retailers need to stop complaining and start innovating and that includes us.”
Woolworths, however, may not be so far behind the rest of the digital retail world as you might think. After all, the retailer has already seen some 1.5 million downloads of the Woolworths mobile app.
“In 2020 I believe 100 percent of our turnover at Woolworths will emanate from the multi-option channel, with customers having access to at least one online touch point before making their final transaction,” O’Brien says.
