UK online retailer ASOS’s decision to cut prices in Australia to reverse declining sales has paid off, but overseas retailers hoping to maintain their share of the local e-commerce market will have to make tough decisions on pricing as the Australian dollar reaches six-year lows.
ASOS, which once boasted it was flying four jumbos of clothing to Australia every week, was forced to cut prices in Australia by about 20 percent late last year and offer free returns after website traffic and sales plunged, hurt by the weaker Australian dollars and increased competition from online and local bricks and mortar rivals.
In a trading update overnight, ASOS said sales in Australia and other markets outside the UK, Europe and the US rose 4 percent, or 10 percent on a constant currency basis, after falling by between 5 and 6 percent in the two previous quarters.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald Online )