A series of online retailing seminars is being scheduled by two retail organisations to boost locals’ skills in the online battle.

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) together with the Australian Sporting Goods Association (ASGA) have responded to popular demand from retailers to learn more about online retailing by conducting the second of a series of ‘Engage in E-tail’ seminars in Sydney on Tuesday August 2.

Delegates at Engage in E-tail, Sydney, will hear from industry experts and online gurus, including a keynote address from Quantium’s Simon Smith (former CEO of Ebay 2000 – 2008), and Google’s head of retail Ross McDonald, who will share expert insights into online retail market place trends.

The course is fFree for ARA and ASGA members or $200 per person for non- members.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said Paul Greenberg (DealsDirect.com.au) and Tim Pope (Portalogue) and Ecommerce Websites were also presenting at Engage in E-tail.

“Engage in E-tail will answer questions for retailers wanting to embrace the online space such as: what is e-tailing, how much do I need to invest, what skills do I need and what technology do I need, how can I increase my online presence and ecommerce capabilities?” Zimmerman said.

Australian Sporting Goods Association executive director Brad Kitschke said that retailers could not afford to ignore the advantages of the online marketplace.

“Consumers are demanding different ways to shop and the retail community needs to embrace this trend and the opportunities that a multi channel approach to market offers. Engage in E-tail seminars give retailers the kick start they need to begin their journey into online retailing in order to reach their existing and new customers via the channels through which consumers operate and conduct business, ” Kitschke said.

Bookings: Email events@retail.org.auor call 1300 368 041