Online shopping hit a new high of $20.7 billion in the September quarter fuelled by more frequent purchases and major sales events, according to the latest research from Australia Post.
The quarterly total is up 15 per cent compared to a year earlier and a 6.2 per cent increase on the June quarter, Australia Post has revealed in its latest Quarterly eCommerce Report.
The record spend was achieved despite the average basket size remaining flat at $95 as 8.1 million households shopped online, an increase of 2.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Australia Post says the trend signals an online spending boom that the parcel delivery operator expects to intensify across the Black Friday and Christmas periods.
“We’re preparing for what’s shaping up to be our biggest peak delivery season on record,” says Chelsea O’Reilly, Australia Post’s general manager of enterprise and government.
“Australia Post has significantly bolstered operations, hiring thousands of additional team members, investing in our delivery network and infrastructure, and rolling out a new fleet of electric delivery vehicles to get parcels to customers faster than ever.
“With more Australians shopping online and expecting faster deliveries, we now have over 1,000 banks of parcel lockers across the country, giving customers even more convenient and flexible options for collecting their parcels.”
The latest Quarterly eCommerce Report reveals that online marketplaces remain the top-performing category for the sector, generating $4.6 billion in sales, which is up 10 per cent year-on-year.
This was followed by food and liquor with $4.2 billion in sales, up 14 per cent, and fashion at $2.7 billion, up 13 per cent over the past year.
The categories of books, stationery and multimedia; consumer electronics and hobbies; and recreational goods saw the biggest growth of any online category, rising 43 per cent, 21 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. The report says this reflects a growing appetite for at-home entertainment and lifestyle products by consumers.
Value-driven shopping continues to motivate customers with three in four shoppers saying they are holding out for major sales events.
Half of all shoppers have their sights set on Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, which the report says sets the stage for a strong second quarter.
Across the country, NSW residents shopped the most online followed by Victoria and Queensland.
However, the postcodes that topped the list for online shopping nationally were all located in Queensland and Victoria, namely Hoppers Crossing, Toowoomba, Mackay, Point Cook and Bundaberg.
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