Frolic Girls has weathered the storm - through what one Illawarra academic has labelled the "retail apocalypse" - altering what they sell, increasing their online presence and offering free home delivery to local customers.

Associate Professor Shahriar Akter of the University Of Wollongong's Faculty of Business believes melding together online services with attractive "bricks and mortar" stores will help businesses "survive and thrive".

"Omnichannel retailing ... is the seamless integration of online and offline channels, [for example the] click-and-collect option," he said.

"Customers nowadays use several channels such as physical stores, websites, direct mail and catalogs, social media sites, review sites, call centers, mobile devices, kiosks, home services, networked appliances, and so on to complete a purchase."

Research he co-conducted found using a mix of channels together increased customer satisfaction, resulting in more sales.

The research published in May (by Professor Akter, Tasnim M. Taufique, Uraiporn Kattiyapornponga and Yogesh Dwivedi) found a 250 per cent higher purchase frequency, 13 per cent more order value, 90 per cent higher customer retention, and 13.5 per cent more engagement rate compared to using just one channel.

At the beginning of lockdown in March, Frolic owner Kelly Kreilis was inundated with customers wanting to return dresses they had nowhere to wear, as high fashion and cocktail-style outfits were predominantly what they stocked pre-Covid. Now more than 90 per cent of sales come from comfortable knitwear.

"If we didn't do a well-priced [order] of knit-wear, we'd be gone ... all everyone's buying is lounge-wear," Ms Kreilis said.

"We just really have to take every week as it comes. It's really hard because it is uncertain times. We had to redistribute all our orders, some brands will not come back ... or not producing until next year.

"We've just got to stay positive. It's a long way before things [will be] perfect] but we're definitely not in the position we were in the first few weeks of Covid ... And we turn 18 in August so I was not letting a virus bring us unstuck."

Ms Kreilis continued to promote their goods via social media and altered business hours to welcome in-store customers and package online orders. She has noticed an increase in new clientele as well as loyal customers making unnecessary purchases because they "don't want to see me go".

Read More: How these Illawarra arts troupes kept afloat during a pandemic

Professor Akter said research from the International Monetary Fund implied a recession "much worse than the 2008 Global Financial Crisis" as a result of the pandemic but Australia was doing better than other economies.

"We will emerge from this crisis in much better shape than others as we have limited the spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing the massive economic stimulus package by the federal government," he said.

Other strategies to help retailers stay afloat include investing in online infrastructure - "critical" for the digital marketplace - and offer repeat sales incentives like free shipping and free returns, as well as customer engagement using analytics.

Read More: Nicole Kidman's new miniseries to start pre-production in Southern Highlands

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.