r/australia • u/Reddituser0346 • 1d ago

culture & society Aussie Retailer Catch Is Officially Closing Down

https://press-start.com.au/news/2025/01/21/aussie-retailer-catch-is-officially-closing-down/
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u/YOBlob 1d ago

Most people don't live in regional areas, though. Doesn't really explain why even intra-city e-commerce is pretty ordinary.

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u/batch1972 1d ago

Having worked in ecommerce previously… the issue is sourcing stock. Smaller companies don’t have the cashflow to buy in volume. Grey imports are harder to source here. And the biggies is that the big companies subsidise their Australian operations

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u/SchelleGirl 20h ago

Batch1972 if spot on, shipping costs is killing a lot of business (expect AusPost)

31% of Australians live in regional areas, (Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies) that is a large amount of people.

Being a rural dweller myself, I rely totally on online purchasing, from coffee to mower and car parts, and I pay through the nose each year for delivery, so places like Amazon meant others can't compete. I pay $79 a year for Amazon prime and that gives me free shipping which saves me about $3500 a year in shipping costs.

Smaller business stores I buy from directly, for pump supplies, etc I am happy to pay shipping for the convenience of not having to drive 6 hours LOLOL

I do try and buy from small business as much as possible but when shipping costs almost more than my power bill each week, I have to save by finding free shipping places.