Shopping habits changed dramatically in 2020 mostly thanks to the coronavirus crisis, which also brought a wealth of opportunity to the ecommerce sector as many consumers transitioned online. 

Our RetailX Global 2020 Ecommerce Report explores in great detail, how these changes looked in some of the most important B2C markets around the world; zooming in on everything from consumer preferences, through to population growth and internet usage. 

The report is free to all retailers and can be downloaded here. 

Today, we will be taking a deep dive into the state of ecommerce in Australia; illustrated by RetailX graphs from inside the global report so you can get a taste of what we have to offer!

Digital economy 

Australia is a highly digitalised economy, with 88% of the population forecast to be internet users in 2020. Of these 88%, a majority of 72% are expected to be shopping online: 

Considering this figure was only 58% in 2015, it is fair to say Australia has seen steady growth over the past five years and is slowly catching up with some of the most technologically advanced markets in the world such as the UK (92%), the United Arab Emirates (99%) and Qatar (100%). 

Social media preferences 

Shifting the focus to social media, I was personally shocked to find only 1% of Australians are a fan of the ‘gram! Co-owned social giant, Facebook, on the other hand, appears to be highly regarded down under, with 68% of the population as active members. 

Pinterest was next on the list of most used social platforms in Australia (17%), followed by Twitter (8%) and penultimately, Youtube (3%). 

As discussed in last week’s blog – selling through social channels is becoming increasingly popular within the ecommerce sphere and is an effective way to reach out to younger consumers. Hence, social media preference per market is definitely something merchants should be acutely aware of. 

Ecommerce by catagory

So what are consumers spending their money on? Well, like the rest of us, it appears that the Aussies are dying for a holiday, with airlines and hotels seeing the most ecommerce activity (22%). This trend has peaked recently as well: with travel sales up 201% week on week, following the Prime Minister’s announcement to ease lockdown last Monday. Perhaps 2021 will be a banner year for travel retailers, eh? 

The second most popular ecommerce category in Australia is clothing and footwear (12%); closely followed by food and drink (10%) and electrical goods (9%). Homeware and furniture, however, came in last at 6% – do they not have a B&M in sunny Oz?!

For further insight into consumer habits in Australia – or in any major B2C market around the world, for that matter – read our Global 2020 report now.