Travelshopa, the curated guide to the best local shopping around the world, has tapped into Australia’s $20 billion fashion, furniture and homewares industries with the launch of TravelshopaAustralia.
The platform helps designers and retailers in 18 global destinations (and growing) showcase their brand to shoppers and buyers who are looking for the best shopping destinations around the world.
Strong demand for the Travelshopa offering prompted the Australian expansion. The initial focus is on Melbourne and Sydney, before continuing to expand into other capital cities and regional destinations around Australia.
With a focus on fashion, furniture and homewares, Travelshopa provides a trusted platform for designers and retailers to connect with industry professionals and style conscious shoppers around the world through detailed brand profiles, thorough guides, exclusive interviews, stylish shopping experiences, and a unique online shop.
What is the story behind Travelshopa?
Founded in Singapore by Australian Renée Lodens in 2013, Travelshopa has partnered with Mastercard and Paypal, was named one of South East Asia’s hottest startups and speaks to an engaged audience of over 75,000 each month.
“I was living and travelling overseas for a number of years when I realised there was no ‘go-to’ guide on the best local retail experiences for shoppers. As a result, Travelshopa was born in 2013,” Renee explains.
“While the global retail landscape is currently undergoing enormous change, and consumer habits are also shifting, more than ever before travellers are looking to have bespoke, spectacular experiences. This presents us with a very unique opportunity to help promote local shopping experiences and ensure that shoppers can access curated local knowledge on where, when and what to shop.”
According to the Deloitte Access Economics’ latest Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook Report, Australia’s tourism sector remains strong with solid growth in both international and domestic visitor numbers. International visitors to Australia are growing at nearly three times the rate of global travel, a statistic which Renée says confirms that now is the right time to launch Travelshopa in Australia.
“There has never been a better time to help global and local shoppers discover Australian fashion designers and retailers. Their work is innovative, creative and world class. I am thrilled to be back home to introduce my global network to an amazing array of Australian brands and shoppers worldwide.”
Roy Morgan research also supports the case for demand for local brands with domestic visitors, showing that Australians made 90 million more trips to bricks and mortar stores in 2015/16 than the year prior.
Home interiors stores proved particularly strong, with 13 million more combined visits recorded. While these signs are promising, the figures are still well down on what they were five years ago. Travelshopa aims to help boost these visitor numbers through its curated guides, exclusive interviews and brand profiles.
Local designers and retail businesses can now join Travelshopa for free here.
