Teen’s 360 Mall has all-round appeal

An Australian teenager has created a new 3D online shopping mall, which he says is a first for the country.

Alex Danieli, 15, launched 360 Mall earlier this month. It already has 94 stores signed up and has received about 4,000 unique views.

The Year 10 student from Sydney, who has a keen interest in business, developed the mall over the past nine months. It follows his work on an online electronics accessories store.

“I thought there was a gap for online shopping – there was the potential for something else. It would be just like going to a shopping centre, but online, and it offers more than that,” he says.

Danieli says the site enables users to take a virtual tour through the shopping centre and also has a price comparison service.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, says these sorts of start-ups are a positive for the industry, suggesting others can take inspiration from Danieli.

“I think the more we see all these start-ups and online spaces, the more competition we are going to get in online spaces, and I think that is a good thing for retail generally,” Zimmerman says.