Poor budgets are limiting or delaying 45% of retailers from executing omnichannel strategies.
This is according to the second annual Retail Insight Report by SPS Commerce.
While retailers are grappling with tighter budgets, ‘click-and-collect’ will be the next most prevalent omnichannel fulfilment mode.
45% of retailers engaging with 'click-and-collect' said they had fully optimised platforms, with a further 22% having current projects underway.
Consumer trends were also a focal point for retailers as 77% of those survey cited trends as the single greatest influence expected in the next five years.
Order fulfilment continues to be demanding for the industry, due to dramatically increasing order volume and complexity; 55% of respondents expect increased online orders.
SPS Commerce vice president and general manager APAC Angela Hariohoedojo said consumer demands for personalised experiences across all channels were beginning to outpace the industry’s ability to keep up.
“The findings from this year’s Australian industry benchmark report demonstrate the urgency of fulfilment flexibility, the importance of real-time inventory visibility, and the critical role accurate item information plays in delivering an engaging consumer shopping experience.
“If the Australian market executes on this, it could quickly evolve into one of the world’s most integrated retail markets, with matrixed, nimble and adaptable supply chains based on shared data.”
Despite the urgency expressed by Hariohoedojo, Australian retailers remain optimistic with 72% reporting better than 4.5% growth in 2016 and continued positive outlook for 2017.