Retail cloud services company SPS Commerce has released a report unearthing findings about the Australian retail sector.
The report details current supply chain challenges and opportunities faced by domestic retailers as well as assessing omnichannel capabilities presented by businesses.
It reveals that 76% of retailers are confident that mobile sales will spike in the next 36 months, with 82% believing that these sales will further accelerate if supply chain visibility is unlocked.
In addition 82% of Australian retailers are headed towards creating an omnichannel shopping experience and want to commit to enhanced delivery options including same day, store-to-door and returns as early as this year.
Despite a positive outlook on the future of retail operations, the report does highlight that Australian businesses have been slow to catch on to innovation.
Only 7% of local retailers believe they are running an 'advanced' omnichannel business and 40% have admitted that they're lagging behind the rest of the world.
Retail Systems Research (RSR) executive Paula Rosenblum said that retailers should be repositioning themselves to a consumer-driven environment.
"Omnichannel is about profitably building the next generation of consumer experience, and execution is apparently harder than the ecosystem expected it to be.
"Retailers, suppliers and logistics providers need to move quickly to satisfy a consumer who has a seemingly endless array of choices and not a lot of patience.
"While everyone is heads-down, particularly in figuring out the supply chain side of the omnichannel equation, no one should lose sight of the consumer."