Australian shoppers are returning to brick-and-mortar stores, but retailers aren't seizing the opportunity as well as they could.

New data from Monash University found that 65 percent of shoppers prefer using bricks-and-mortar stores most of the time, compared to 18 percent of Australians preferring to shop online.

"There is a return to the importance of customer experience at physical stores.  Human touches and the sensory experiences of a store visit are increasingly important, particularly with millennials - who prefer to spend more money on experiences than on material things," said Dr. Rebecca Dare, managing director of Monash Business School's Australian Consumer, Retail, and Services (ACRS) research unit.  "Shoppers miss the customer experience of physical stores; 'real life' connection with other people, touching things and trying them on is not an experience you get online."

But Dr. Dare said Australian retailers are faiing to capitalize on this resurgence and improving their methods to create a positive in-store experience. 

"We see trends overseas with empathic, human-centred design and advanced technologies that make shopping easier and/or more pleasurable, however, in Australia it's all too common to see that in some cases the basics aren't right - stock is piled high to the ceiling, merchandise is displayed poorly, and finding personalised customer service can be difficult," she said. 

While Aussie retailers seem set in their ways, numerous overseas brands and physical stores are winning on customer experience by innovating.

For instance, IKEA in the UK sells umbrellas at a discountated rate on rainy days.  Dr. Dare says that communicates a human understanding, while providing a solution to an everyday problem.