Last night saw the 2017 StarTrack ORIAS celebrate the triumphs of Australia and New Zealand’s online and multi-channel retailing champions.

Entering its eighth year, the StarTrack ORIAS applauded a line-up of impressive award categories, including: Best Pure-Play Online Retailer, Best New Online Retailer, Best Small Independent Retailer, Best Multi-Channel Retailer, Best In-Store Initiative, Best Online Retail Marketing, Best Pop-Up Experience; Best Site Optimisation & Design Initiative; Best Mobile Commerce Site/Application; Best Social Commerce Initiative; Best Customer Service; Best International Conqueror; Best Bootstrapped Growth Initiative; Industry Recognition, People’s Choice Award – Small Retailer, People’s Choice Award, Online Retailer of the Year and the Hall of Fame.

This year’s winners included:

• Industry Recognition: Kate Morris, Adore Beauty

• People’s Choice – Small Retailer: Beserk

• StarTrack People’s Choice: Kogan.com
• Best Pureplay Online Retailer: Tinyme
• Best New Online Retailer: FitMyCar
• Best Small Independent Retailer: Hunting for George
• Best Pureplay Online Retailer: Tinyme
• Best New Online Retailer: FitMyCar
•  Best Small Independent Retailer: Hunting for George
• Industry Recognition: Kate Morris, Adore Beauty
• People’s Choice – Small Retailer: Beserk
• StarTrack People’s Choice: Kogan.

The 2017 event saw the return of the ‘Hall of Fame’, an invitation-only honour for an outstanding retailer, acknowledging their contribution and sustained excellence over the life of the awards. The inductee was Dan Murphy’s, who has been reigned in as permanent ORIA Hall of Famers.

StarTrack CEO and Australia Post Group Chief Operations Officer, Bob Black, said, “Australian online retailers continue to demonstrate world-class levels of innovation and sophistication in their approach to improving the customer experience. As Australia’s leading delivery provider we’re incredibly proud to continue supporting the StarTrack ORIAS and the entire industry.”

Award judges represented a cross-section of the online retail community, having been meticulously chosen by the independent judging panel to guarantee the highest standards and integrity was achieved.

They included Grant Arnott ( Power Retail – Managing Director) as the Head of Judges; Alice Kuepper (Online Retailer Event Director), Alita Harvey-Rodriguez (Milk It Academy – Managing Director), Andy Powell (Agile Commerce Consulting – Managing Director), Ben Franzi (Australia Post and StarTrack – General Manager of eCommerce and International), Bernadette Schwerdt, (bernadetteschwerdt.com.au Founder), James Webber (Henslow – Senior Consultant).

Jonathan Reeve (Jonathan Reeve Consulting – Principal), Peter Knock (Hopsters Ltd – Director), Robin Li (GGV Capital – Vice President) and Sean Sands (Monash Business School’s Australian Consumer, Retail, and Service (ACRS) research unit – Associate Professor of Marketing and Managing Director).

Event Director of Online Retailer Alice Kuepper said, “The StarTrack ORIAS truly established itself as the jewel in the crown of all ecommerce events in Australia. The unprecedented quantity and quality of entrants this year shows how much the industry values the award and the recognition it brings. The judging panel undertook a rigorous process to determine the winners and the decision was not easy. All of the nominated retailers have done brilliant things, whether it’s growth, innovation or providing a first-class customer experience.”

“Retail is continuously evolving and so are consumers, therefore retailers especially must work hard to stay competitive and relevant in today’s modern marketplace. It’s important for us therefore to acknowledge these efforts and celebrate their successes together as an industry, in a meaningful way. The winners are the top ecommerce players influencing the market in ways that are both new and compelling, and we congratulate them for their achievements.”