91 per cent of Australian consumers have shopped online in some capacity over the last six months, but opportunities for online growth still exist for Australian retailers, according to a new joint study between Research Now and ACRS.
ACRS, a research and consulting services provider within Monash Business School, collaborated with online digital data and sample collection provider, Research Now, to survey 497 Australians on their online shopping habits.
The survey, whose participants represented of a cross-section of the Australian population, found that the majority of Australians shopping online are aged under 55 and their purchase frequency is monthly to every few months. Despite being under-indexed in relation to the total population, 82 per cent of those aged over 65 are shopping online. This shows that, contrary to popular thought, online is not just a channel for the younger age groups.
The most popular categories for online shopping in the last six months were clothing, accommodation, travel, event tickets and entertainment services. Indeed, nearly 75 per cent of all travel purchases are being made online, making travel the category with the highest conversion for online shopping.
These findings suggest that Australians find it easier to purchase online when shopping in a category in which:
- Products can be easily compared; and
- Products don’t need to be physically seen or held to make a judgment on the purchase decision.
Online growth opportunities
Over half of online shoppers are shopping on both Australian and international websites. However the average consumer estimated that 57 per cent of their online spending over the last six months was done on Australian websites.
The survey – and this result in particular – brings to light the opportunities that are available for Australia’s online retailers to increase online purchase market share from Australian customers.
Currently, revenue is being lost because consumers are often not completing the entire purchase journey through online channels. Consumers report using the internet to search, compare products, compare prices and read product reviews.
According to the Research Now and ACRS survey, 50 per cent of customers then purchase the product in a physical store, while 20 per cent take the click and collect route. The most common reasons for this are:
- Wanting to physically see the product;
- Concern over security of online payments;
- High delivery costs; or
- Delayed delivery times.
These findings support the notion that retailers with a physical presence can still gain competitive advantage over pure-play online retailers by providing alternate options to an entirely online purchase journey.
Categories showing the lowest uptake of online shopping include white goods, sports equipment and furniture. Purchases with an important tactile element are still largely made offline, but can be supported with online product information and price transparency.
Want more?
For more information on this study, contact Johanna Grieve, associate director, Research Now, at jgrieve@researchnow.com, or visit www.researchnow.com. ACRS research consultant, Dr. Violet Lazarevic, can be contacted at violet.lazarevic@monash.edu, or visit www.buseco.monash.edu.au/acrs .
