Recognising the importance of the retail sector, the Australian Government hosted a half-day forum in Sydney on 18 February 2011. The forum brought together more than 100 retailers and other parts of the supply chain to identify the opportunities, discuss the challenges and map the solutions for online retail in Australia. Key outcomes achieved from the event were to highlight the importance of a vibrant Australia online retail sector, promote industry dialogue and facilitate networking.
The event was live webcast and over 2 300 people tuned in from around the world (including people located in countries such as New Zealand, the US, the UK, Canada, Chile, Brazil and France). The event was live tweeted and more than 500 tweets were posted. The hashtag #orf11 became a trending topic in both Sydney and Melbourne and tweets were posted from people in Brisbane and Hobart, as well as at the event itself.
The Australian Government has also asked the Productivity Commission to conduct an inquiry into the economic structure and performance of the Australian retail industry.The commission is due to deliver its final report in November 2011. The Inquiry will consider the drivers of structural change in the retail industry, including globalisation and increasing household and business access to the digital economy.
