Published on March 12, 2008 Australian Ecommerce Statistics 2008
The growth in online shopping is only set to continue in Australia and worldwide.
In Australia and worldwide, Online shopping is growing massively. Retailers that wish to stay ahead of their competition are well advised to start thinking about starting an online store today.
In the next five years, US$1 trillion will be purchased online or influenced by information found about products and services online, according to Forrester Research. As at the end of December 2007 there were 15 million Internet users in Australia representing 75% of Australia’s population. Not all of them are shopping online yet, but Hitwise Australia reported that last July, 28,000 classifieds and shopping sites were visited by Australian Internet users and accounted for almost 6% of all Australian Internet traffic. The potential is huge.
Some of the trends Hitwise Australia have reported are:
- Huge growth in the online House and Garden sector (consumers browse online and buy in store).
- Growth in the electronics sector – with car audio, games, LCD TVs, DVDs, XBox 360s and CDs all commonly searched
- Continued growth in traffic to shopping and classifieds websites
Security remains a key factor for both buyers and sellers. Buyers want to know they can trust the site to get their goods and that the privacy of their credit card details will be preserved. Sellers want to know that they are not being defrauded.
Trends such as these create opportunities for businesses to sell their products online and take advantage of store-pick-up methods of shipping. Or, simply to showcase them and publish stock levels. Either option grows business revenue and cuts down on postage costs which are a huge deterrent for both buyers and sellers online.
Providing your customers with an easy-to-use shopping experience, good selection of payment options and a strong security policy to build trust can help online businesses be a success. Australia is poised for an online shopping explosion. As a business, how well are you placed to take advantage of it?
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