Bunnings one step closer to launching full e-commerce offering

Bunnings Warehouse is getting closer to having a “fully transactional” website.

In a presentation to investors on Wednesday, the hardware chain revealed it expects to be selling its full range of products online within the next 18 months.

Bunnings has the fourth most visited shopping and classified website in Australia, but until recently, it didn’t sell any products online.

In June last year, the retailer, which is owned by Wesfarmers, enabled online ordering for approximately 20,000 select products, labelled Special Delivery, which ranged from kitchen, bathroom, lighting, to outdoor products, and saw 80 per cent of orders picked up in-store.

Now, the retailer is expanding its click-and-collect offering. On Wednesday, Bunnings revealed it is trialling click-and-collect for all products at its Craigieburn location, with a further test planned in Tasmania later this year before a nationwide rollout.

Managing director Michael Schneider has previously said he was pleased with the initial response to the sale of selected products online, and that click-and-collect was a logical next step for the hardware chain.

The business on Wednesday also signalled an understanding that it is trading within a shifting landscape – which provides both instability and opportunity.

Changing demographic and societal trends have affected the way consumers spend their money, and millennials, who are making up a greater proportion of the company’s customer base, have less DIY aptitude, but greater digital awareness, Bunnings said.

As such, the hardware chain said it would shift some of its focus toward first-time DIY customers and begin targeting the “next generation of customers”.

The growth of high-density living and rise of long-term renters is driving a focus on products and services for smaller dwellings, as opposed to larger-scale home renovations.

Bunnings also signalled a desire to capitalise on growth opportunities in “low market share categories”, such as kitchens, bathrooms, window furnishings, and flooring, as well as an expansion of its smart home range, and storage, in order to better capitalise on a more digitally aware customer, who doesn’t have an excess of space.

Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.