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Short shop hours boosting online sales

The retail trade body is arguing that restricted shopping hours in some states is driving people to the internet for Christmas shopping

Online shopping at Christmas time has become the norm among regional Western Australians because of restricted trading hours at shopping malls, retailers say.

While shopping at department and general merchandise stores during the festive season remains popular Australia wide, a massive 93 per cent of those living in regional Western Australia indicated they would purchase some gifts over the internet, a pre-Christmas survey by the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) found.

Restricted trading hours at bricks and mortar shopping centres across the state is the cause, ANRA chief executive, Margy Osmond, believes.

"A third of shoppers in regional WA told us they would do most of their Christmas shopping from their lounge," she said in a statement on Friday.

Only ten per cent of the regional Victorians surveyed opted to buy gifts in the same way.

"Victoria has a very liberal trading hours regime and allows its shops to open when consumers want them to open," Osmond said.

Western Australians were still keen to get to the shops, with half indicating they would flock to the malls if trading hours were extended.

The survey of 1000 shoppers found online purchases among regional South Australians were also common, with 71 per cent indicating they did some of their shopping that way.

The ANRA again attributed the trend to restricted trading hours at stores outside of Adelaide.

Convenience wasn't the only reason consumers indicated a penchant for online shopping.

In most states, at least half said they found goods purchased online were cheaper than those bought from a store.

A Productivity Commission Inquiry into the retail sector has recommended trading hours be fully deregulated in all states.

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Tags: ANRA Margy Osmond, Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA), online shopping, Western Australia
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