With Christmas not far away, thoughts turn to not just shopping, but in this new era of online retail, also to collection.

Australia Post, while still the bastion for mail delivery, has said that from December 13, it cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas.

As one retailer commented, consumers were ready for online shopping long before the retailers.

But now all players in the space realise that its best to friends than foes. Landlords can now offer space to online retailers, who in turn, still hanker for customer interaction.

In an Australian first for the online retailer, Groupon has launched its new bricks-and-mortar retail space in Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills.

Its competitor, eBay, has also opened a four day pop up site at the forecourt of Customs House

The centrally located site has opened to coincide with the Christmas rush, allowing Sydneysiders to shop last minute bargain gifts, without the worry of missing the Christmas postal deadline.

The flaw in internet shopping has always been the collection and that is getting more difficult as companies close down mail rooms as online shopping delivery centres.

Australians spent a record $16.2 billion online in the year to October 2014, up 11.9 per cent on the previous year, according to National Australia Bank's (NAB) latest Online Retail Sales Index.

The lion's share of the increase in online retail sales has come from domestic retail sales, as opposed to Australians shopping internationally. As the Aussie dollar has weakened, domestic online sales expanded by 14.4 per cent, while international sales only grew by 4.7 per cent.

While the largest states also command the largest share of online sales, on a per capita basis Canberrans are the most dedicated online shoppers in the country, followed by shoppers in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales.

According to Groupon executives, the store will act to as a pilot service, connecting the group buying e-commerce site with customers in the physical world. The store offers up to 70 per cent off more than 20 products to 'click and collect', with a view to increase the selection to 30 products in December.