Australia’s Growing Ecommerce Industry and How It Is Changing Retail Trends

The Asia-Pacific region has seen an online boom over the past decade, particularly in e-commerce.In fact, this part of the world actually has the largest online market globally and high levels of growth in the Australian ecommerce market have had a lot to do with this.

According to a report by eMarketer, Australia’s total online sales are forecast to exceed $32 billion in 2017, putting us in the top ten worldwide.

Despite having a smaller population than its competitors, there are several factors that explain why Australia has become one of the world’s biggest players when it comes to e-commerce.

What is fueling Australia’s e-commerce growth?

With a population of just 23 million, e-commerce in Australia is largely fuelled by a stronger economy and infrastructure, rather than the number of consumers.

Australia is ahead of largely populated nearby Asian countries for a number of reasons, including the following:

High internet usage

85% people of Australia have internet access and the number of users is increasing at a rate of 1.7%. Globally speaking, this is a very high proportion and ensures that e-commerce websites are able to easily reach a large audience.

Further, the increase of social media use for people of all age groups in Australia has introduced new ways to connect with potential customers. The number of social media users in Australia will reach 12.1 million in 2017.

The rise of handheld devices

Currently, there are about 19.4 million mobile phone users in Australia, which again accounts for a large proportion of the total population. With more people having regular access these devices, it is easier for online businesses to find potential buyers. This is one of the key factors behind the popularity of e-commerce stores.

In 2015, about 35% of e-commerce transactions were made on smartphones and 27% consumers buy products from mobile devices on a weekly basis.

Preference for shopping online

According to a study by Roy Morgan, Australians spent $41.3 billion on online shopping last year. And every 4 people out of 10 buy products from e-commerce stores at least once a month.

The 2016 country report from E-commerce Foundation shows that about 65% people of Australia shops online and this trend is going up. Australians are quite used to purchasing things on the internet and 79.4% internet users prefer this to traditional shopping.

Stronger economy

Australia has a GDP per capita of $88 thousand, meaning people have more purchasing power and disposable income. That makes spending money – whether it be spent online or elsewhere – more possible.

Better infrastructure

Australia’s strong infrastructure with an 89% urban population provides retailers with a better opportunity for e-commerce retailers to grow their business. Over the past decade, many physical shops have started online businesses and have become successful.

Compared to many developing countries, Australian online retailers face fewer bureaucratic hurdles and barriers to entry. This makes Australia an interesting destination for foreign e-commerce investment too.

Source : extracted from webAlive blog