The SmartCompany online sales report card 2013: How are the big boys stacking up?

Reporting season is in full swing and with it comes a key question: How are the big boys performing when it comes to online sales?

Although the past few years have seen a huge boost in the number of companies reporting their online sales and showing off their digital chops, there are still a fair few falling behind.

But with so many online retailers doing so well, now is not the time to remain complacent. Kogan is turning over more than $300 million a year, and the Winning Group has reached $350 million. Catch of the Day is doing similar numbers.

Until recently it was normal for larger, ASX-listed retailers to simply say they’re “investing” in online sales. But more are actually publishing figures now, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to compare them – and actually see how well they’re doing.

Although the reporting season isn’t over yet, there have been several companies already releasing their online results. So how do they stack up – and have they improved on last year?

JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi is one of the few companies which posts specific figures for online sales. And just like last year, they’ve done extremely well.

Last year, online sales grew 77% to $50.8 million, representing about 1.62% of revenue.

This year, that number has increased again. Online sales are up 29.8% over the year to $65.9 million, or 2% of sales.

It’s still not a huge proportion of sales, but $65 million is nothing to sneeze at. JB Hi-Fi is definitely proving how to do online retail right.

Super Retail Group

Super Retail Group is one of the few companies now which doesn’t actually post any online results. Last year it didn’t give a hint as to how much it was making on the internet, and this year there’s no improvement.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s doing nothing – SRG is pumping $16 million into developing “multi-channel capability development”. The online sales will come soon enough.

Reject Shop

Not only does the Reject Shop not provide a breakdown for online sales, it doesn’t even offer online commerce at all.

And not only that, but last year chief executive Chris Bryce said the business case didn’t exist yet for the company to go digital.

Wesfarmers

So far, Wesfarmers hasn’t released specific results for its online businesses.

However, it did give some hints. The company said online sales for office supplies were continuing to grow in double digits. (The Officeworks site is rumoured to bring in upwards of $100 million in revenue).

Meanwhile, the company also said over the next year it will continue to align its online and in-store offerings.