Today one of Australia’s largest independent online retailers, Catch.com.au, opens its doors to its first ever pop-up concept store in the former Toys ‘R’ Us store at Vicinity’s Chadstone – The Fashion Capital. It’s proof that bricks-and-mortar retail is not going away anytime soon.
The merge of online and physical plays is used as a competitive advantage in the store as customers are greeted by a ‘real-life’ person on an iPad offering high level customer service. Customers can scan their purchase via a QR code on their own phone, transact it online and then walk straight out of the store with their purchase in their hands.
Chadstone General Manager Fiona Mackenzie said the first-ever physical Catch store was part of an emerging trend in Australian retail with the online business giving customers the opportunity to see and touch their favourite products before purchasing.
The concept store features Catch’s top 500 products and a daily rotation of Catch’s most-loved products from leading brands at a fraction of the usual price – in-keeping with Catch’s core premise of ‘Screamin Good Deals’.
Shoppers will be able to browse through a wide array of products from homewares to designer fashion and will have the ability to click and collect on their own device in-store – exploring the future of retail, where clicks meet bricks.
CEO of Catch Group, Nati Harpaz said the store will offer customers a new kind of shopping experience.”Catch does things differently, that’s always been the way,” he said. “Every day our aim is to provide an exceptional shopping experience, now we’re taking what makes Catch famous online to an in-store – clicks to bricks – and have created a pop-up shop designed for the digital age.
“As always, customers will get the very best prices on a huge range of products at the Catch store, with fresh deals added daily. As well as allowing customers to shop the traditional way, we will introduce an innovative way people can shop in our pop-up concept store on their own device. It’s instant click and collect, this is a real insight into the future of retail.”
“Chadstone is the perfect stage for Catch to showcase its top-selling catchoftheday.com.au products, with more than two million customers and tourists visiting every month. We know people are always looking to Chadstone for new and unique experiences, which is why Catch is going to be a great concept to share with our customers and connect with new customers.” Mackenzie said.
Catch has been trading online since it launched in 2006 with one product a day. The retailer has now grown to more 8,000 orders a day from over 1.1 million active customers, products ranging from homewares and groceries to designer fashion.
