Six years ago when I launched Appliances Online, online retail was a different place – none of our current competitors were online, the Harvey Norman-Kogan clash was still some years away and most people thought that selling appliances online was crazy.
A lot’s changed since then – traditional retailers like Myer are now selling online and lending a lot of authority to the space, while businesses like Coles Online, who have been operating since 1999, are continually putting more effort into the channel (even if they are still having some teething issues).
Along the way, the appliances industry has become busier and busier. A lot of our offline competitors launched online properties, including sites operated by 2nds World and Retravision, both of which bear uncanny similarities to our own site. And we’re not the only ones who notice, either.

A screenshot from 2nds World's new e-commerce site.

Appliances Online
Some sites go so far as to take our own images, while others try to impersonate us on the search results and trade off our brand name.
We don’t see this as too disheartening, however.
Not everything can be copied.
Competitors will always borrow images, layouts and content: but these elements of our business are not what sets us apart. In fact, there’s an advantage to online retailers adopting a similar site style as consumers know what to expect from one site to the next.
Old-fashioned service, a dedication to our customers and competitive pricing are, and will always, be key to the success of our business – and these things are hard to successfully copy.
Being copied forces innovation.
We see no value in trying to claim ownership of a design: that sort of reaction only inhibits progress.
Take the bickering between Apple and Samsung, for example: the huge amounts of money they spend trying to bar each other’s products could otherwise be invested in delivering something genuinely unique.
Each time a competitor impersonates us, they’re missing an opportunity to create something entirely unique themselves – rather than trying to lead the market, they’re reacting to other players around them. We’re solely focused on the former: continually refining our site and service offering.
Brands that act this way are also distracting themselves from the main goal. Aus Appliances, for example, aren’t using their own brand name in their homepage title tag (where you would usually use your brand name and your top keywords) – they’re using ours. They’re only going to weaken their own brand and confuse their visitors – which can’t be healthy for sales.

So, my advice if you’re being copied: be flattered and continue innovating.