Out of necessity, more and more stores are heading online with their products and seeing great success. 

One such store, The Top Saddlery, said their website is “vital” to their operation. 

“We would have been able to survive in Katherine without setting up an online store, but we would only need a third of the staff,” Julie Newton, the owner of The Top Saddlery said. 

The long-term Katherine resident first opened the store in 1991 with her partner Geoff Newton, but back then it was operating from their home. 

In 1993 they moved to Katherine Terrace and in 2008 they had their first website up and running. 

“We had a lot of remote customers and the internet was becoming widely used,” Mrs Newton said. 

“For us, having a website is a vital part of our business, if that goes we would lose out significantly.” 

The small business owner said an integrated website was imperative to her operation.

“We don’t have any duplication, as people buy things online, it removes stock from the floor too.

“The only thing you need to worry about is adding imagery and a selling spiel,” she said. 

While The Top Saddlery is currently seeing year on year increases in sales, Mrs Newton said, selling products online does not come without challenges.

High freight rates can be a big issue, she said, as well as “getting your head around the technical stuff”. 

“When you’re living in an isolated country town like Katherine it is important to know how to keep things fresh. No-one goes into retail thinking they will need IT experience.

“Competition is fierce, don’t try compete with Target or Woolworths. Have a niche offering, whether that is your product or your service. 

“A lot of people don’t want to buy off the big players, they want to buy off small businesses.” 

Seeing how the internet has drastically changed the way Australians shop, the owner of Uniquely Territorian, Nicki Williamson is in the midst of expanding online. 

She already uses social media to sell her quirky printed T-shirts and mugs, but wants a simplistic one stop shop for her online customers. 

“Social media takes up a lot of time, but it is imperative. 

“Right now I spend a lot of time exchanging back and forth with customers of Facebook and a website would cut all of that out and make it much easier for shoppers.”

More than 50 per cent of the small store’s sales are made online, Ms Williamson said. 

“Quite frankly I need to keep up with the times. It was a necessity to put my stuff online. 

“Orders have increase and I have an Australia wide audience. 

“Personally, I like to purchase locally, I like to step into a store and see and touch what I want to buy, but I have seen a huge shift, especially with the younger generation.”

A fashion social enterprise based out of Katherine, Magpie Goose, has seen considerable success Australia wide since its inception, and it operates only online. 

The co-founders Maggie McGowan and Laura Egan both moved to the NT and saw an opportunity to build an income for Indigenous people through creating a fashion line using their textiles and hand screen-printed designs. 

According to Ms McGowan the brand launched with an online store to reach customers from all around Australia.

While the pair explored options to set up a physical base for the business in Katherine, the online store was enough to get word out about the line. 

“Online sales are great – you can do online from anywhere, which is why it's a great option when you're in Katherine,” Ms McGowan said. 

“[We looked at] incorporating an office, warehouse and shop, but the high cost of leasing a retail or commercial space in Katherine made it unviable.

“We get inundated with requests from people visiting Katherine in the dry season who want to come and buy Magpie Goose.

“Although we looked high and low and visited many vacant retail and commercial spaces, we were not able to find an affordable option.”

Magpie Goose recently started selling their items at Design A Space in Fitzroy, Melbourne. 

“We are currently exploring options to set up Magpie Goose HQ outside of Katherine,” Ms McGowan said. 

On the opposite side of the coin, the owner of Katherine’s fishing and camping store, Rod and Rifle, Warren de With said while he can see big benefits in moving online, businesses need to think about retail employment affects. 

“When you look at places down south a lot of small towns don’t exist like they used to because people on stations sit on their computer to shop instead of jumping in the car and heading down to their local store.

“We just have to be careful [online stores] don’t detract from bricks and mortar, we have to be careful we don’t detract from people being hired in town.” 

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