News from Australian media have announced retail giant Bunnings will launch a transactional website down under in 2018. Avid DIY-ers will be able to purchase items from Bunnings’ special orders range online, where there are currently more than 20,000 items, including products such as playgrounds and taps.

Brian Walker from the Retail Doctor Group said Bunnings and JB Hi-Fi’s latest initiatives would ensure they remained competitive against online retailers such as Amazon. He told Australian news site NEWS.com.au: “We all know that retail is undergoing a rapid transformation — it’s much more about bringing products to customers, not customers to shops.

“A new retail ecosystem is being built. Retailers can now do business anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, and the integration of physical stores and online, which is what we’re seeing with Bunnings, is a step in that direction."

Bunnings Australia have over 750 inspirational and D.I.Y. videos (these receive over 2m views a month) and 13 million website views every month in Australia, making the retailer's move to online an unsuprising development.

Managing director of Bunnings, Michael Schneider, said: "Over many years Bunnings has built a digital eco-system to provide customers with information and inspiration for projects around their homes. 

We continue to evolve our digital offer, and from early 2018 customers will be able to purchase our special orders range online.  This will give customers more convenient access to thousands of products from our suppliers that are currently only available to order in-store.

We remain focused on helping and inspiring our customers both on digital channels and instore, whether it be through our D.I.Y workshops or videos, our upcoming in stock website feature or advice from our team members at their local store."