Four out of five of Greater Geelong locals made online purchases in 2022, with Mount Duneed residents more likely to buy home and garden items online than people almost anywhere else in the country, a new Australia Post report shows.
The 2023 Inside Australian Online Shopping report, released this week, is an in-depth study into Australians’ online buying behaviours intended to provide insight into the current and future state of commerce in the country.
While the number of all online purchases nationally in 2022 was 2.6 per cent lower than the year before, online spending increased by 1.7 per cent to a total of $63.8 billion, an 18.1 per cent share of the nation’s overall retail spending.
With the national average of 84 per cent of all Australian households buying goods online, Geelong led regional Victoria with 81 per cent ahead of Bendigo (78 per cent) and Ballarat (77 per cent).
Geelong buyers favoured pet products, with pet goods category showing a 107 per cent increase from the year before.
Mount Duneed households were second overall nationally in per capita purchases of home and garden items, with only Samford Valley, Queensland, outbuying them in that area.
Australia Post executive general manager parcel, post and eCommerce services Gary Starr said the trend toward online shopping was here to stay.
“One million more households are now shopping online compared to 2019 and 5.6 million households made an online purchase every month during the past year,” Mr Starr said.
“Australians are shopping online more often, with 37 per cent shopping fortnightly compared to 20 per cent pre-COVID.
“The growth trend in online was steady prior to COVID-19 but spiked during restrictions, now it’s showing a return to normal trend growth. By 2033, we expect around one in three dollars will be spent online.”
Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said Australian’s appetite for retail shopping was at an all-time high in 2022, with “bricks and clicks” showing the greatest success.
“A phenomenon we refer to as ‘freedom spending’ drove these results, where people reward themselves after an intense and challenging period,” Mr Zahra said.
“It’s important to recognise that up to two-thirds of this recent growth in retail spending has been driven by price increases from inflation.
“”It’s a known fact that crises drive innovation and the pandemic accelerated trends that were already occurring in the industry. Developments such as Click & Collect, direct-to-boot delivery and contactless shopping have proven mainstays as we navigate a new normal.
“While retail will likely experience the impact of the economic slowdown, we remain confident retailers will weather the storm to emerge in a strong position.”
