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With more Aussies favouring online purchases over brick-and-mortar shopping, a new report showed that the country’s e-commerce market is positioned to hit a sales milestone.
The latest report from data and analytics company GlobalData showed that the Australian e-commerce sector is forecast to record a growth of 13 per cent to reach $69 billion in 2022, as consumers increasingly shift from offline to online purchasing.
The figures indicate an upward trend from $61.1 billion total online sales recorded in 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7 per cent between 2018 to 2021.
And this online shopping boom is not seen to end anytime soon. Further analysis showed that e-commerce sales in the country will rise at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent between 2022 and 2026 to reach $103.1 billion in 2026.
According to Ravi Sharma, the lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, the observed increase in online transactions has been driven by several factors.
“Australia’s e-commerce market has been witnessing high growth over the past few years, supported by growing internet penetration, availability of secure online payment systems and an increase in the number of online shoppers,” Mr Sharma said.
She also pointed out that despite physical stores opening their doors in the post-pandemic environment, the trend of buying online (which was partly driven by the lockdowns during the pandemic) continues even now.
It is estimated that more than 9 million households shopped online during the financial year ending 30 June 2022 — indicating a 200,000 increase from the previous financial year.
A separate report from Global Data on Australian consumer trends showed that almost 84 per cent of Aussies surveyed reported having purchased something online in the last six months, while only less than 7 per cent revealed that they have never shopped online.
When asked why they prefer online shopping over going to a physical store, respondents cited simplicity and speed, security, and paying in instalments as their main motivations.
In terms of payment tools usage, the report noted that debit, credit and charge cards collectively accounted for a 26.3 per cent share in total e-commerce transaction value in Australia in 2022.
The value-added benefits associated with these cards have encouraged their use, according to the report.
“Alternative payment solutions such as PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay are also popular among online shoppers in Australia, with PayPal alone accounting for a 13.4 per cent share,” the report stated.
Additionally, the rise in popularity of the “buy now, pay later” payment schemes among Australians, particularly among Millennials, has also driven the redirection towards online buying.
Among prominent providers of the payment option, Afterpay accounted for 8.5 per cent of total e-commerce payments value in 2022.
“The pandemic has brought a permanent shift in consumer-buying behaviour, pushing them towards online, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming months,” Mr Sharma concluded.
GlobalData’s findings align with the results of a separate report from payment platform Podium, which showed that convenience is king for post-pandemic Aussie consumers.
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