July 24, 2025 • 21 mins
From safe rooms to social commerce, we unpack what’s shaping the APAC retail landscape now.
Recorded live during Australia’s largest retail conference, this episode of Five Things Friday – APAC Edition dives into two polarizing forces in retail: rising crime rates and retail media growth. Co-host Laura, chair of the Online Retailer Conference, joins Alex to dissect what’s making headlines—and what’s shifting power—in the Asia-Pacific market.
Key Topics:
📉 66% YoY growth in weapons-related retail incidents (AU)
🇳🇿 Safe rooms in telco retail stores in New Zealand
📈 Retail media surging 73% by 2030: Shopee, Lazada, Grab, eBay
🧠 AI personalization, marketplaces, and TikTok Shop’s delayed arrival
💥 Why Temu and SHEIN are overtaking Australia’s digital retail stage
Plus: A deep dive into marketplace dominance, cultural contrasts in retail crime, and what APAC leaders can learn from content creators in Europe and the US.
Hosts:
Alex Rezvan – Founder, The Retail Podcast
Laura – Retail & Tech Consultant, Chair of Online Retailer Australia
🔗 Visit TheRetailPodcast.com for full transcripts and show insights.
🎙 Follow us for more episodes from APAC, Europe, the Middle East, and the USA.
APAC retail, retail crime, retail media, marketplaces, Shopee, Lazada, Temu, SHEIN, TikTok Shop, personalization, AI in retail, Australia retail, New Zealand retail, DTC brands, retail podcast, eCommerce trends 2025
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to Five Hi guys, I'm Laura.
I'm a tech and retail advisor and consultant and the
(00:20):
Australian ecosystem and I work with brands and retailers.
I'm Alex, one of the Co hosts 5 Things Friday show.
I help retailers build their thought leadership and authority
in retail across the globe and also the founder of the retail
podcast. As you will see, Reef is
missing. We recorded reef sessions so
we'll go to him. Now thanks Alex.
(00:41):
Today I've got 2 rippers, 1's positive and 1 not so positive.
So let's start with a not so positive and I think this is a
trend that's being seen in Western countries all round the
world and that is retail crime. I know that the NREF and the
states have done numerous reports in Australia and New
Zealand. There are numerous discussions.
And what really brought this home to light this year was the
(01:07):
the fact that Mayor Anderson, who was the GM of Retail and
Channels for two degrees from New Zealand, they're at New
Zealand telco talked about employer satisfaction, employer
NPS. And one of the big elements
underpinning their real dissatisfaction with their
workforce was the employer or the sales staff on the shop
floor, their sense of Safety at Work.
(01:31):
And, and what was fascinating was that, you know, some of
these, some of these stores had to have safe rooms that we're
talking about a telco retail outlet.
Wow. What, what the anger and abuse
towards. And, and they would do, what do
you call it? A employee NPS, right.
Employee NPS, that sort of stuff.
(01:52):
And they're getting feedback. Like some days I feel unsafe at
work. Some days I feel I might die at
work. Yeah, now.
Is your job worth dying for? So that's pretty full on.
So they went through a whole transformation of their business
and and it LED to huge upliftingprofitability and performance.
Yeah, you know, based on addressing this issue, which is
(02:13):
retail crime and violence and threats and abuse.
And, and So what that sort of made me think about, because it
wasn't the topic we were leadingfor, but it was the underpinned
dissatisfaction for the workforce was really.
And then all this stuff happening around with, well,
let's have a little dig a littlebit deeper into retail crime.
And really when I look at it, retail crime in terms of that
(02:34):
abuse, violence, intimidation isreally a western thing.
So you're seeing in the states, you're seeing in, you're seeing
in the UK, you're seeing in Australia seeing it New Zealand,
but Asia not so much. And so, you know, if I put
Australia and New Zealand into context, in 2024, Australia
witnessed 60 percent, 66% year on year growth in weapons
(02:56):
related incidents in retail bar and serious events rose 30% with
threatening incidents climbing 39% year on year from 20/20/24.
In New Zealand, you know, the, the, the, the increases were
smaller, but you know, weapon, weapons related crime in retail
rose by 10% and threats by 14%. And that's according to Retail
(03:19):
Asia. So there's some really big lifts
here. You know, we're talking about
organised and then things like organised, like organised
shoplifting, external theft, youknow, aggressiveness from
shoplifters, all those things are off the are really going off
the scale. So that's really, but it is, it
is when we talk about retail crime, it's not an Asian thing,
(03:41):
it's a western thing. But if you look at retail crime
in Asia, Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia, you know, the
historic roots of large scale cyber scam operations is
Southeast Asia. So syndicates operating in, you
know, from Thailand, Myanmar, you know, more remote zones like
Las Cambodia, you know, are often sitting in the Southeast
(04:03):
Asian region. So it's a really different type
of crime, you know. Yeah, this is a technology and
and a scam and a skimming type activity.
Yeah. Whereas, you know, when in those
Western countries there's actually face to face
confrontation. Yeah.
So really diff really culturallydifferent markets.
You really what's countering that is you're seeing some
really, really intensified crimeenforcement in financial and
(04:27):
organised crime. Yeah.
And so anti money laundering andand counterterrorism financials
in some places like Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, India and China, amongst others are really
working to counter. That's a lot of that cybercrime
and that and that anti money. And so it's on 2.
Fronts then as we have like 2 fright crime as well as physical
(04:50):
in store. Install, install.
Yeah. So that's, so that's, that's
really interesting because everyone's been talking about
talking about retail crime, but it manifests differently in
different parts of the world. The second.
So that's that's the negative. And we always, you know, you
don't, no one comes to work to be threatened so or to be ripped
off. On the other side is retail
(05:10):
media. Yeah.
And I wanted to talk about retail media in the context of
the region. Yeah.
So in terms of maturity, retail media really is is further down
the maturity curve in an AIPAC versus other parts North America
and Europe. But.
(05:31):
The retail media networks like Shoppi, Lizada, Carousel, Grab
in Asia, eBay in Australia, they're they're really starting
to push that growth and they're the ones that's that's they're
the centres of the growth for retail media.
And we're looking at, you know, you know, probably growth of
(05:51):
between 8 and 11% year on year from now 2024.
And they reckon retail media network spend will in surge by
about 73% over the next seven years to 2030.
So that's a lot, right? That's a lot.
What's what, what some of the outcomes of this is retail media
is, is moving from being a tactical tool in the region do a
(06:12):
strategic growth driver. And what that means is it's it's
transforming physical stores into measurable, scalable
advertising channels. Yeah.
OK, according to according to Moving Walls, and this is the
reason why it's important is andit's been recognised that 87% of
people who are making purchase decisions are making it in store
in that last small environment. Yeah.
(06:33):
So retail media in store is morepowerful than probably any other
decision making media. Yeah.
Yeah, I think is it, is it the ultimate conversion tool, right?
Is it the ultimate uplift cross sell tool from what?
From what you're saying, maybe it is one of those strong tools
I think. I think it's very category
(06:55):
specific. I think that, you know, I mean,
if you're walking in the store and you're buying a car versus
buying a bottle of booze, it varies dramatically.
But this is about influence at point of say, because that's we,
we are creatures that, you know,what we're taking in is
influencing how we psychologically how we think.
So I think I I can see how retail media definitely or cash
(07:20):
strapped or margin stricken retailers is such an important.
And 100% it's, it's, it's a, it's a revenue driver that
really wasn't formally understood and it's coming,
yeah. And I think we talk about retail
media in terms of the state of Asia Pacific, Australia
definitely leads the way in terms of maturity and deployment
(07:44):
and analytics. And that's I think, I believe
primarily led by the technology that's plumbing it together.
Yeah, that North American or European plumbing is very much
come to Australia. So I think your tech vendors
have driven that. Yeah, Southeast Asia, as I said
before is catching up really rapidly and that's driven by
those retail media networks, Lazada, Shopee, Carousel,
(08:04):
Graham, etcetera. Japan, Japan is, is, is a real
infrastructure first expansion. So it starts with transit and
and utilities integration. But the key thing here is that
is one what we go back to the big, the big gorilla in the
corner, which is China. Yeah, and just China, just while
it hasn't made. Such a nice way, right?
(08:25):
Yeah, they, they're, I mean, it's for currently, you know,
according to, according to Axios, 44% of global retail
media ad spending is in China, which is, you know, that's
enormous because I mean, and they are, they are China as you,
as we know through the through JD and Alibaba and those
(08:47):
platforms, they have incredible retail media networks in their
own right. But that that there's, there's a
level of maturity in China, which means that probably that
share will probably drop back a bit as other retail region,
other regions sort of catch up. Yeah, because I think we're
just, we're running in a multiple speed mark at the
(09:07):
moment. So that's a little bit about
retail media. Yeah, OK.
It's, I mean, in terms of Southeast Asia, there's still
plenty of new opportunity. Australia is is at the front of
it but really doesn't have the scale of someone like China
does. No, it's brilliant.
OK, buddy. Thank you so much.
I know you're a busy man, so I'll let you crack on.
Thank you my friend. Good.
Always good to chat. Great, forward to speaking to
(09:28):
you next week when we speak. Fantastic.
Cheers. Laura, I know you're, we're
talking to you live in Sydney from your is it, what's the
retail event that you're? Chairing yes so this is the
online retailer it's called it'sthe biggest retail conference in
Australia we've got about 4000 people at it and I cheer I cheer
(09:49):
the event matured it last year and I cheered it this year it's
pretty full on and across the road from the event and my hotel
room and then I have to run backover I.
Want to be super respectful to your time?
Why don't you kick yourself off,take us into your top.
We didn't even discuss. Do you have one?
Do you have two? How many do you have for?
US this week I have two. I want to start with the one
(10:09):
which I'll I'll talk to you about the, I guess the five key
themes coming out of the Australian conference, right,
very straight. Brilliant, brilliant.
So, and they're not dissimilar to what we're seeing globally.
Maybe I'll give a little bit of viewpoint in each of them #1
marketplaces, I mean, we're second saying it, but it's just
such a big, massive topic that I'll, I'll come back to that.
(10:32):
So marketplaces really dominate and we've had consolidation in
marketplaces, but the big ones are really going full pelt.
So I think it's like the ones who are marketplaces and are
really strong are going deeper into being a bigger, better
marketplace. So that's number one really
about that speed operation and delivery.
That's that's, you know, we knowthat that more operationalizing
(10:55):
customer expectations coming across really important resale
or re commerce or whatever. You know, I feel like that come
up a couple of years ago, it died down, everyone kind of and
it's back up, but really still amassive opportunity and
something that I think has been ignored and shouldn't be
ignored. Social commerce.
(11:15):
We know you, you know, but Alex,one thing here, TikTok hasn't
arrived here and it's going to arrive here at some point.
Don't. Find it.
It's like a TikTok shop. Or any other?
TikTok shop has not arrived here.
So we still get TikTok and you can still I guess do social
commerce. Let's be honest, you can you can
sell through content and just I guess make out it's different.
(11:37):
But TikTok shop is not here yet.Personalization and the
explosion agenda AI very, very similar to what we're seeing
across the board. I think one thing I want to
mention on it, but the one, the one area as I've went through
the tracks that is starting to be a bit of a red flag.
And it's actually more for me toposition what I do.
I work with boards and C suites need to be more not startups.
(11:59):
They tend to be more establishedbusiness models.
And I think that what I'm seeingas the divide is pretty wide
between the content creator businesses and the more
traditional business models. So it was yeah, yeah.
And I'm almost going, guys, you're luck.
It's almost the lucky that TikTok shop hasn't arrived yet
because I've still got to be about.
We decimated, yeah. Got to get their content, their
(12:22):
content strategy sorted. They've got to get social
commerce, they've got to you know, I'm, I was listening to
some more of that direct consumer brand that does global
and it's like test, fail, test scale and then that strategy on
a page and almost allowing people to experiment, but having
that strategy on a page so that we have some kind of guiding
(12:42):
principles. So they are the five key areas
that are really coming across strong from this week at the
conference. I got you.
Now the next one I thought mightbe good.
You want me going to .2? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Far away, I'll be able to get back to the show.
As yeah, so .2 I thought it would be interesting to one of
the IT was Roy Morgan did a report.
(13:05):
I love when it's going to be back more focused in this
market, but that I'll tell you the top ten businesses that are
dominating retail. So number one is Amazon.
I know that's you almost go do, but Amazon took a wee bit longer
to scale here. They've been around before COVID
and this might be the first or the second year of the number
one. So we've got Amazon, we've got
(13:26):
eBay, we've got Team news #3 Alco, JB hi-fi is number 5, Big
W #6 Kmart #7 Maya #8 the good guys number 9 and Sheen.
She, I call it Sheen. I don't know how you pronounce
it, Sheen, right. So 33 marketplaces there and
(13:49):
then some of the big guys and obviously, you know, Apple
massive. So Amazon continues to be the
biggest share of online sales, but TMU and Sheen have the
biggest share gains year on year.
That to me was a bit of an interesting one.
What did I, what else have I gotto tell you?
Yeah, in the last 12 months, Amazon's dominances went to,
they've got in revenue in Australia, it's 3.8 billion.
(14:13):
Yeah, and the Prime members havewent up by 1.1 million in one
year. So they're making a lot more
traction Sheen and team you 3 billion in sales.
It was actually, I wonder if they're only this was an
Australia ghost report that they've just released.
And one of the things that they said is that customers are
discovering products, 47% of shoppers are discovering
(14:36):
products on marketplaces. I'm wondering it might not just
be the three, it might be generalised across that, but it
got me thinking. It's like, we know that
marketplaces are dominant, but are we?
It feels like we're almost moving into a place where can't
even avoid being on them. Yeah, it's really, really
difficult. I think it's a really difficult
choice for retailers because it's like I'm I'm damned if I do
(15:00):
and I'm damned if I don't because it affects my margin, it
affects the data that I got if it affects.
But then if I'm not there, yeah,exactly my competitors.
And I think this brings it back to why retailers really need
community, really need their ownbrand, really need their own
content to be able to stand out from, from, from the the
(15:20):
plethora of choices. You know, obviously, if you're
going to Timia and Sheen, it's like Amazon in the old days,
you're going for price and convenience.
You want that low price, you want it quick or within, you
know, within whatever. And so delivery becomes a real
thing. But if you don't need those two,
then what else is going to make you stand out?
(15:40):
Like I've always said, it's it'sthey're a frenemy.
You know, they can be great if you use them the right way.
But now when I'm seeing that number of 47% of search results
are starting on a marketplace, you're almost going, it's not
even a should you, shouldn't youas are we becoming a need to?
The choice isn't there. And one of the interesting
things as well, like retail media, as we know is a big
topic. We know that the reality is it's
(16:03):
only the big players that can doretail media effectively at the
moment. And how do you do retail media
on these platforms? You have to be a seller, it's
locked. You have to play with these
platforms. On the flip of that, on the flip
of that, I think that as a way you can always twist it any way
you want, right? When I think about it, on the
flip, these guys have a really, they know best practises in the
(16:25):
core. They know how to do fulfilment.
They really challenge a businessto be better and do better and
potentially leveraging these platforms excellence.
You can focus on what we spoke about brand, brand content,
better products, sustainability,what you're doing with your
resale market. But I'm I'm letting it land
that. It's not new, but it's just
(16:45):
landing a little bit different when I think about the numbers
coming through. I think that you know what the
challenge for me is now becomingbecause like on Monday I
recorded the Middle East show, yesterday I recorded the US show
with Jill, who's the SVP of Content.
NRF is the maturity of the consumer and sometimes we we
(17:06):
forget that. And so you you're talking about
marketplaces, we're talking about AI search.
When people's discovery starts on an AI browser, then it ends
up sorry or an AI app then ends up on the e-commerce buy page.
Shopify, for example, when I interviewed Bobby, the CRO, he
(17:27):
was talking about how people have just got to get used to
that. I think that's the wonderful
thing of doing this show and working with people like
yourself. There is a lot of hand holding
that needs to happen. And sometimes when we talk about
these themes, we talk in them, we talk about them as absolutes
and it's not an absolute, it's ajourney.
And I think what people need is that sort of beacon of light and
(17:49):
that and I guess that's what what you are and what will
become in terms. Of well, you know, you try you
try to break it down into what where should you go first?
Because actually on that AI, thesearch, it is a topic here as
well. And it actually makes me lean
into that search piece because I'm thinking about AI as well.
But one in three customers here are starting their search
(18:10):
journey on on like ChatGPT. It's all.
Right, so it is the same thing then?
It's we've seen it as well. So yeah, like that, that that
was one of the stats that I had read.
I can't remember the source. One or three people are are
starting their search, whether it be they're looking for outfit
inspirations, that's it. Yeah, they're there already.
(18:32):
And then? You go to the buy page.
So what what that means and the implication there is that
retailers need to be spending more time and energy on their
product pages, making sure that those product pages absolute and
you can almost. Not that I'm.
Suggesting you can almost forgetthe UI or CX and so forget that
because we know that search is no longer going to this sorry,
(18:54):
discovery is not going to start with us.
But then that's why the beautiful thing that I I try and
highlight in the UK show is the amount of content creators or
the amount of brands that are content creators because that
that's how they stand out in thenoise.
And again, it cans that Jill wasat, they were talking about or
Jill was telling me that for thefirst time in all the times that
(19:17):
she's been there, you've seen these small content creators be
as big as a voice as these big powerhouses.
And I think that's the shift that we're seeing.
You know Alex, what I said in this stage when I was finishing,
I had been around, I had been with the big guys doing a panel,
I was with the Country Rd group,who else was on it, a Freedom
Furniture, very big retail groups.
(19:39):
And the next presentation, it was a brand called Babyboo that
is a direct to consumer brand, 120 countries and Australia's
probably becoming their smallest, one of the smaller
markets. And I actually went up and went,
can we do secondments because. They wish right, The big guys
wish. They're making these guys in.
I know and I'm trying to flip itbecause I do think some of the
(20:01):
leadership and the more grounding business model is
where the DTC brands become unstuck.
So I'm going, well, let's implant a couple of CIOs, the
CIOs in to them, help them kind of maybe get a wee bit more
foundations really strong and then let's get some of these
really great digital marketing people that that.
Test, fail test scale like that have done it and know how to do
(20:25):
content at at scale and to the retailers.
So maybe that's my next, my nextproject is how do we, how do we
do secondments between and really, you know?
I'm sure people will bite your hand off for it.
You know, in terms of getting that, it's, it's a culture thing
as well. And again, I've done enough
projects to know that if you can't change the culture of the
company, getting one leader in, maybe that one leader will start
(20:47):
the changing culture, but you need to have that culture.
And I think D2C brands, I hate this phrase, but obviously it's
what the kids say. It just hits different, right?
I don't, I would never use that language, but that's what the
language I, I hear people saying, right?
It is different and I think it'sreally interesting.
So listen, I said, I'll be really quick.
(21:08):
We're running over. I love talking to you.
So have a wonderful time and I'll see you next.
Week. Thank you.
I'll see you next week, Alex. Bye everyone.
See you.
Hello and welcome to Five Hi guys, I'm Laura.
I'm a tech and retail advisor and consultant and the
(00:20):
Australian ecosystem and I work with brands and retailers.
I'm Alex, one of the Co hosts 5 Things Friday show.
I help retailers build their thought leadership and authority
in retail across the globe and also the founder of the retail
podcast. As you will see, Reef is
missing. We recorded reef sessions so
we'll go to him. Now thanks Alex.
(00:41):
Today I've got 2 rippers, 1's positive and 1 not so positive.
So let's start with a not so positive and I think this is a
trend that's being seen in Western countries all round the
world and that is retail crime. I know that the NREF and the
states have done numerous reports in Australia and New
Zealand. There are numerous discussions.
And what really brought this home to light this year was the
(01:07):
the fact that Mayor Anderson, who was the GM of Retail and
Channels for two degrees from New Zealand, they're at New
Zealand telco talked about employer satisfaction, employer
NPS. And one of the big elements
underpinning their real dissatisfaction with their
workforce was the employer or the sales staff on the shop
floor, their sense of Safety at Work.
(01:31):
And, and what was fascinating was that, you know, some of
these, some of these stores had to have safe rooms that we're
talking about a telco retail outlet.
Wow. What, what the anger and abuse
towards. And, and they would do, what do
you call it? A employee NPS, right.
Employee NPS, that sort of stuff.
(01:52):
And they're getting feedback. Like some days I feel unsafe at
work. Some days I feel I might die at
work. Yeah, now.
Is your job worth dying for? So that's pretty full on.
So they went through a whole transformation of their business
and and it LED to huge upliftingprofitability and performance.
Yeah, you know, based on addressing this issue, which is
(02:13):
retail crime and violence and threats and abuse.
And, and So what that sort of made me think about, because it
wasn't the topic we were leadingfor, but it was the underpinned
dissatisfaction for the workforce was really.
And then all this stuff happening around with, well,
let's have a little dig a littlebit deeper into retail crime.
And really when I look at it, retail crime in terms of that
(02:34):
abuse, violence, intimidation isreally a western thing.
So you're seeing in the states, you're seeing in, you're seeing
in the UK, you're seeing in Australia seeing it New Zealand,
but Asia not so much. And so, you know, if I put
Australia and New Zealand into context, in 2024, Australia
witnessed 60 percent, 66% year on year growth in weapons
(02:56):
related incidents in retail bar and serious events rose 30% with
threatening incidents climbing 39% year on year from 20/20/24.
In New Zealand, you know, the, the, the, the increases were
smaller, but you know, weapon, weapons related crime in retail
rose by 10% and threats by 14%. And that's according to Retail
(03:19):
Asia. So there's some really big lifts
here. You know, we're talking about
organised and then things like organised, like organised
shoplifting, external theft, youknow, aggressiveness from
shoplifters, all those things are off the are really going off
the scale. So that's really, but it is, it
is when we talk about retail crime, it's not an Asian thing,
(03:41):
it's a western thing. But if you look at retail crime
in Asia, Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia, you know, the
historic roots of large scale cyber scam operations is
Southeast Asia. So syndicates operating in, you
know, from Thailand, Myanmar, you know, more remote zones like
Las Cambodia, you know, are often sitting in the Southeast
(04:03):
Asian region. So it's a really different type
of crime, you know. Yeah, this is a technology and
and a scam and a skimming type activity.
Yeah. Whereas, you know, when in those
Western countries there's actually face to face
confrontation. Yeah.
So really diff really culturallydifferent markets.
You really what's countering that is you're seeing some
really, really intensified crimeenforcement in financial and
(04:27):
organised crime. Yeah.
And so anti money laundering andand counterterrorism financials
in some places like Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, India and China, amongst others are really
working to counter. That's a lot of that cybercrime
and that and that anti money. And so it's on 2.
Fronts then as we have like 2 fright crime as well as physical
(04:50):
in store. Install, install.
Yeah. So that's, so that's, that's
really interesting because everyone's been talking about
talking about retail crime, but it manifests differently in
different parts of the world. The second.
So that's that's the negative. And we always, you know, you
don't, no one comes to work to be threatened so or to be ripped
off. On the other side is retail
(05:10):
media. Yeah.
And I wanted to talk about retail media in the context of
the region. Yeah.
So in terms of maturity, retail media really is is further down
the maturity curve in an AIPAC versus other parts North America
and Europe. But.
(05:31):
The retail media networks like Shoppi, Lizada, Carousel, Grab
in Asia, eBay in Australia, they're they're really starting
to push that growth and they're the ones that's that's they're
the centres of the growth for retail media.
And we're looking at, you know, you know, probably growth of
(05:51):
between 8 and 11% year on year from now 2024.
And they reckon retail media network spend will in surge by
about 73% over the next seven years to 2030.
So that's a lot, right? That's a lot.
What's what, what some of the outcomes of this is retail media
is, is moving from being a tactical tool in the region do a
(06:12):
strategic growth driver. And what that means is it's it's
transforming physical stores into measurable, scalable
advertising channels. Yeah.
OK, according to according to Moving Walls, and this is the
reason why it's important is andit's been recognised that 87% of
people who are making purchase decisions are making it in store
in that last small environment. Yeah.
(06:33):
So retail media in store is morepowerful than probably any other
decision making media. Yeah.
Yeah, I think is it, is it the ultimate conversion tool, right?
Is it the ultimate uplift cross sell tool from what?
From what you're saying, maybe it is one of those strong tools
I think. I think it's very category
(06:55):
specific. I think that, you know, I mean,
if you're walking in the store and you're buying a car versus
buying a bottle of booze, it varies dramatically.
But this is about influence at point of say, because that's we,
we are creatures that, you know,what we're taking in is
influencing how we psychologically how we think.
So I think I I can see how retail media definitely or cash
(07:20):
strapped or margin stricken retailers is such an important.
And 100% it's, it's, it's a, it's a revenue driver that
really wasn't formally understood and it's coming,
yeah. And I think we talk about retail
media in terms of the state of Asia Pacific, Australia
definitely leads the way in terms of maturity and deployment
(07:44):
and analytics. And that's I think, I believe
primarily led by the technology that's plumbing it together.
Yeah, that North American or European plumbing is very much
come to Australia. So I think your tech vendors
have driven that. Yeah, Southeast Asia, as I said
before is catching up really rapidly and that's driven by
those retail media networks, Lazada, Shopee, Carousel,
(08:04):
Graham, etcetera. Japan, Japan is, is, is a real
infrastructure first expansion. So it starts with transit and
and utilities integration. But the key thing here is that
is one what we go back to the big, the big gorilla in the
corner, which is China. Yeah, and just China, just while
it hasn't made. Such a nice way, right?
(08:25):
Yeah, they, they're, I mean, it's for currently, you know,
according to, according to Axios, 44% of global retail
media ad spending is in China, which is, you know, that's
enormous because I mean, and they are, they are China as you,
as we know through the through JD and Alibaba and those
(08:47):
platforms, they have incredible retail media networks in their
own right. But that that there's, there's a
level of maturity in China, which means that probably that
share will probably drop back a bit as other retail region,
other regions sort of catch up. Yeah, because I think we're
just, we're running in a multiple speed mark at the
(09:07):
moment. So that's a little bit about
retail media. Yeah, OK.
It's, I mean, in terms of Southeast Asia, there's still
plenty of new opportunity. Australia is is at the front of
it but really doesn't have the scale of someone like China
does. No, it's brilliant.
OK, buddy. Thank you so much.
I know you're a busy man, so I'll let you crack on.
Thank you my friend. Good.
Always good to chat. Great, forward to speaking to
(09:28):
you next week when we speak. Fantastic.
Cheers. Laura, I know you're, we're
talking to you live in Sydney from your is it, what's the
retail event that you're? Chairing yes so this is the
online retailer it's called it'sthe biggest retail conference in
Australia we've got about 4000 people at it and I cheer I cheer
(09:49):
the event matured it last year and I cheered it this year it's
pretty full on and across the road from the event and my hotel
room and then I have to run backover I.
Want to be super respectful to your time?
Why don't you kick yourself off,take us into your top.
We didn't even discuss. Do you have one?
Do you have two? How many do you have for?
US this week I have two. I want to start with the one
(10:09):
which I'll I'll talk to you about the, I guess the five key
themes coming out of the Australian conference, right,
very straight. Brilliant, brilliant.
So, and they're not dissimilar to what we're seeing globally.
Maybe I'll give a little bit of viewpoint in each of them #1
marketplaces, I mean, we're second saying it, but it's just
such a big, massive topic that I'll, I'll come back to that.
(10:32):
So marketplaces really dominate and we've had consolidation in
marketplaces, but the big ones are really going full pelt.
So I think it's like the ones who are marketplaces and are
really strong are going deeper into being a bigger, better
marketplace. So that's number one really
about that speed operation and delivery.
That's that's, you know, we knowthat that more operationalizing
(10:55):
customer expectations coming across really important resale
or re commerce or whatever. You know, I feel like that come
up a couple of years ago, it died down, everyone kind of and
it's back up, but really still amassive opportunity and
something that I think has been ignored and shouldn't be
ignored. Social commerce.
(11:15):
We know you, you know, but Alex,one thing here, TikTok hasn't
arrived here and it's going to arrive here at some point.
Don't. Find it.
It's like a TikTok shop. Or any other?
TikTok shop has not arrived here.
So we still get TikTok and you can still I guess do social
commerce. Let's be honest, you can you can
sell through content and just I guess make out it's different.
(11:37):
But TikTok shop is not here yet.Personalization and the
explosion agenda AI very, very similar to what we're seeing
across the board. I think one thing I want to
mention on it, but the one, the one area as I've went through
the tracks that is starting to be a bit of a red flag.
And it's actually more for me toposition what I do.
I work with boards and C suites need to be more not startups.
(11:59):
They tend to be more establishedbusiness models.
And I think that what I'm seeingas the divide is pretty wide
between the content creator businesses and the more
traditional business models. So it was yeah, yeah.
And I'm almost going, guys, you're luck.
It's almost the lucky that TikTok shop hasn't arrived yet
because I've still got to be about.
We decimated, yeah. Got to get their content, their
(12:22):
content strategy sorted. They've got to get social
commerce, they've got to you know, I'm, I was listening to
some more of that direct consumer brand that does global
and it's like test, fail, test scale and then that strategy on
a page and almost allowing people to experiment, but having
that strategy on a page so that we have some kind of guiding
(12:42):
principles. So they are the five key areas
that are really coming across strong from this week at the
conference. I got you.
Now the next one I thought mightbe good.
You want me going to .2? Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Far away, I'll be able to get back to the show.
As yeah, so .2 I thought it would be interesting to one of
the IT was Roy Morgan did a report.
(13:05):
I love when it's going to be back more focused in this
market, but that I'll tell you the top ten businesses that are
dominating retail. So number one is Amazon.
I know that's you almost go do, but Amazon took a wee bit longer
to scale here. They've been around before COVID
and this might be the first or the second year of the number
one. So we've got Amazon, we've got
(13:26):
eBay, we've got Team news #3 Alco, JB hi-fi is number 5, Big
W #6 Kmart #7 Maya #8 the good guys number 9 and Sheen.
She, I call it Sheen. I don't know how you pronounce
it, Sheen, right. So 33 marketplaces there and
(13:49):
then some of the big guys and obviously, you know, Apple
massive. So Amazon continues to be the
biggest share of online sales, but TMU and Sheen have the
biggest share gains year on year.
That to me was a bit of an interesting one.
What did I, what else have I gotto tell you?
Yeah, in the last 12 months, Amazon's dominances went to,
they've got in revenue in Australia, it's 3.8 billion.
(14:13):
Yeah, and the Prime members havewent up by 1.1 million in one
year. So they're making a lot more
traction Sheen and team you 3 billion in sales.
It was actually, I wonder if they're only this was an
Australia ghost report that they've just released.
And one of the things that they said is that customers are
discovering products, 47% of shoppers are discovering
(14:36):
products on marketplaces. I'm wondering it might not just
be the three, it might be generalised across that, but it
got me thinking. It's like, we know that
marketplaces are dominant, but are we?
It feels like we're almost moving into a place where can't
even avoid being on them. Yeah, it's really, really
difficult. I think it's a really difficult
choice for retailers because it's like I'm I'm damned if I do
(15:00):
and I'm damned if I don't because it affects my margin, it
affects the data that I got if it affects.
But then if I'm not there, yeah,exactly my competitors.
And I think this brings it back to why retailers really need
community, really need their ownbrand, really need their own
content to be able to stand out from, from, from the the
(15:20):
plethora of choices. You know, obviously, if you're
going to Timia and Sheen, it's like Amazon in the old days,
you're going for price and convenience.
You want that low price, you want it quick or within, you
know, within whatever. And so delivery becomes a real
thing. But if you don't need those two,
then what else is going to make you stand out?
(15:40):
Like I've always said, it's it'sthey're a frenemy.
You know, they can be great if you use them the right way.
But now when I'm seeing that number of 47% of search results
are starting on a marketplace, you're almost going, it's not
even a should you, shouldn't youas are we becoming a need to?
The choice isn't there. And one of the interesting
things as well, like retail media, as we know is a big
topic. We know that the reality is it's
(16:03):
only the big players that can doretail media effectively at the
moment. And how do you do retail media
on these platforms? You have to be a seller, it's
locked. You have to play with these
platforms. On the flip of that, on the flip
of that, I think that as a way you can always twist it any way
you want, right? When I think about it, on the
flip, these guys have a really, they know best practises in the
(16:25):
core. They know how to do fulfilment.
They really challenge a businessto be better and do better and
potentially leveraging these platforms excellence.
You can focus on what we spoke about brand, brand content,
better products, sustainability,what you're doing with your
resale market. But I'm I'm letting it land
that. It's not new, but it's just
(16:45):
landing a little bit different when I think about the numbers
coming through. I think that you know what the
challenge for me is now becomingbecause like on Monday I
recorded the Middle East show, yesterday I recorded the US show
with Jill, who's the SVP of Content.
NRF is the maturity of the consumer and sometimes we we
(17:06):
forget that. And so you you're talking about
marketplaces, we're talking about AI search.
When people's discovery starts on an AI browser, then it ends
up sorry or an AI app then ends up on the e-commerce buy page.
Shopify, for example, when I interviewed Bobby, the CRO, he
(17:27):
was talking about how people have just got to get used to
that. I think that's the wonderful
thing of doing this show and working with people like
yourself. There is a lot of hand holding
that needs to happen. And sometimes when we talk about
these themes, we talk in them, we talk about them as absolutes
and it's not an absolute, it's ajourney.
And I think what people need is that sort of beacon of light and
(17:49):
that and I guess that's what what you are and what will
become in terms. Of well, you know, you try you
try to break it down into what where should you go first?
Because actually on that AI, thesearch, it is a topic here as
well. And it actually makes me lean
into that search piece because I'm thinking about AI as well.
But one in three customers here are starting their search
(18:10):
journey on on like ChatGPT. It's all.
Right, so it is the same thing then?
It's we've seen it as well. So yeah, like that, that that
was one of the stats that I had read.
I can't remember the source. One or three people are are
starting their search, whether it be they're looking for outfit
inspirations, that's it. Yeah, they're there already.
(18:32):
And then? You go to the buy page.
So what what that means and the implication there is that
retailers need to be spending more time and energy on their
product pages, making sure that those product pages absolute and
you can almost. Not that I'm.
Suggesting you can almost forgetthe UI or CX and so forget that
because we know that search is no longer going to this sorry,
(18:54):
discovery is not going to start with us.
But then that's why the beautiful thing that I I try and
highlight in the UK show is the amount of content creators or
the amount of brands that are content creators because that
that's how they stand out in thenoise.
And again, it cans that Jill wasat, they were talking about or
Jill was telling me that for thefirst time in all the times that
(19:17):
she's been there, you've seen these small content creators be
as big as a voice as these big powerhouses.
And I think that's the shift that we're seeing.
You know Alex, what I said in this stage when I was finishing,
I had been around, I had been with the big guys doing a panel,
I was with the Country Rd group,who else was on it, a Freedom
Furniture, very big retail groups.
(19:39):
And the next presentation, it was a brand called Babyboo that
is a direct to consumer brand, 120 countries and Australia's
probably becoming their smallest, one of the smaller
markets. And I actually went up and went,
can we do secondments because. They wish right, The big guys
wish. They're making these guys in.
I know and I'm trying to flip itbecause I do think some of the
(20:01):
leadership and the more grounding business model is
where the DTC brands become unstuck.
So I'm going, well, let's implant a couple of CIOs, the
CIOs in to them, help them kind of maybe get a wee bit more
foundations really strong and then let's get some of these
really great digital marketing people that that.
Test, fail test scale like that have done it and know how to do
(20:25):
content at at scale and to the retailers.
So maybe that's my next, my nextproject is how do we, how do we
do secondments between and really, you know?
I'm sure people will bite your hand off for it.
You know, in terms of getting that, it's, it's a culture thing
as well. And again, I've done enough
projects to know that if you can't change the culture of the
company, getting one leader in, maybe that one leader will start
(20:47):
the changing culture, but you need to have that culture.
And I think D2C brands, I hate this phrase, but obviously it's
what the kids say. It just hits different, right?
I don't, I would never use that language, but that's what the
language I, I hear people saying, right?
It is different and I think it'sreally interesting.
So listen, I said, I'll be really quick.
(21:08):
We're running over. I love talking to you.
So have a wonderful time and I'll see you next.
Week. Thank you.
I'll see you next week, Alex. Bye everyone.
See you.
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