Nearly 60 per cent of Australian consumers continued to buy non-grocery items from bricks-and-mortar retailers in the six months to May despite the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a Monash Business School survey released on Monday shows. 

“It was surprising to see, especially during the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Dr Eloise Zoppos from Monash’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies unit. 

“That should give retailers of all sizes confidence that people still value a personalised shopping experience.”

According to the report, online marketplaces also saw an increase in popularity during the six month period, accounting for 10 per cent of consumer spend. 

Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree have been gaining steam over the last few years but shot to popularity during lockdown as Australians found time to clean out their wardrobes and homes. 

And more than a quarter of survey respondents said they would return to online shopping in the next six months, while almost half said they would return to bricks-and-mortar, despite the ongoing pandemic. 

“It’s been a tumultuous first half of the year, but retailers who are nimble, agile and prepared to adapt to new consumer and shopper behaviours are going to be successful in the long term,” Dr Zoppos said. 

Of the 514-person survey, 70 per cent said they had purchased clothing, footwear and accessories in the last six months, while 54 per cent purchased household goods and 52 per cent bought personal care products.