Australian online retailers need a strong physical presence in order to boost sales.

The Retail Doctor managing director Brian Walker claims all global retail studies show that success online is complemented by the offline presence of a business. Walker insists, “There is much better penetration into the psyche of consumers when they can see it (product) offline.”

In his local research, Australian Centre for Retail Studies research fellow Sean Sands reveals that the next step to being introduced through the world wide web is to build up a physical presence.

The co-author of the 2010 retail thought leadership report Value and Optimisation in Multichannel Retailing: A Cross-Generational Perspective said, “a consumer really values a retailer being in multiple channels... One of the things that stops people buying online is that they are frightened that they can't return online.”

Digital Camera Warehouse director Lucinda Dalton supports Sands' observation. She has maintained a phone line, a website, and a mail order service while opening new stores in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland.

Dalton said, “In the early stages it was always going to be a website and mail order... But then it became clear that the telephone was really important and people wanted some interaction.”