Aussie retailers shun online shopping is the headline of a Sydney Morning Helald artice (31st March 200 which starts - 'Australians are shunning shopping online over worries about retailers' return policies and the perceived difficulties in posting items back once they are received'.

There is an obvious contradiction between the headline and the first paragraph. Just who is shunning online shopping, i.e. shoppers, retailers or both? Research by consultancy firm Leading Edge has found the growth in online buying has stagnated, leaving Australia well behind the rest of the world in the uptake of retailing on the net. Consumer concerns were expressed in the report about slow broadband speeds, and poor return policies, but are these really the main issues for Australian consumers? WIth traditional international retailers such as UK's Tesco and Walmart (USA) having annual sales exceeding $1 Billion, is Australia being left behind. The main Australian online buying experience is with eBay. What are the big retailers offering? The answer is - not much. What is your online buying experience? Please leave a comment. Another article on the topic is on the Amanda Gome's Smartcompany page.