Ecommerce Australia Statistics: Insights and Trends for Online Businesses

As a business owner in Australia, it is important to be updated on ecommerce Australia statistics so you are on top of industry trends and can plan for the future of your online store. Keeping up with the latest data also helps you measure your performance in the Australian ecommerce market. 

Below, we’ve compiled a list of 100 online shopping statistics for you to build a successful business.

Source: Freepik

Market Overview and Size

This category will expose you to the industry size, market share, and ecommerce growth rate. Its purpose is to help you understand the industry dynamics better.

• The Australian e-commerce market revenue is anticipated to grow to USD 37.10 billion in 2024. Source: Statista 
• Over $63.6 billion was spent by Australian consumers on online shopping websites. Source: Australia Post
• The Australian ecommerce market size grew by an average of 13.8% each year between 2018 and 2023. source: IBISWorld
• The projected market volume of the Australian ecommerce world is USD 58.03 billion by 2029 — a compound annual growth rate of 9.36% between 2024 and 2029. Source: Statista
• The Australian e-commerce revenue was at USD 33.47 billion in 2023. Source: Statista 
• Ecommerce accounted for around $64 billion of Australia’s total spending on retailers in 2023. Source: Australia Post
• By 2030, online retailing will see massive growth, with augmented reality and AI being key players. Source: Australia Post
• With the Australian economy recovering, internet shopping is anticipated to continue its growth. Source: Australia Post

As you have seen, the Australian ecommerce market is still going strong, with more Aussies spending online and increasing Internet shops’ revenue.

Online Shopping Frequency 

In this section, you will find more stats on how frequently people buy items on the Internet. You will also learn whether the volume of online transactions dropped or grew over the years. We’ve divided this category into four smaller sections so you can understand better.

For Individuals

Source: Freepik

This division highlights the frequency and shopping behaviour of single customers:

• 2021 was the peak of online spending, with 25% of all retail spending being done on the web. Source: Australia Post
• Nearly 21 million Australian shoppers of at least age 14 years bought an item online through a retailer in July 2023. That’s a whopping 351 minutes spent on e-commerce platforms for each person during the same month. Source: IAB Australia
• Online stores that offer a variety of products (variety stores) and online marketplaces (Amazon, eBay) witnessed an increase in ecommerce purchases. They saw a jump of 9.1% in web sales. Source: Australia Post.
• The group of customers who web-shopped more than 52 times in 2023 grew by 1% compared to the past year. Source: Australia Post.
• The average amount spent on a single Australian online shopping trip in 2023 is $98. This is a decrease of 4.6% from 2022. Source: Australia Post
• Although Home & Garden saw the most spending ($16 billion) from domestic ecommerce, it saw a decline in spending of 7.6% compared to 2022. Source: Australia Post.
• In the Australian market, shopping online takes 16.8% of total spending on retail shops.  Source: Australia Post.
• 59% of Aussies shopped online every 2 to 3 weeks in 2023, retaining the same frequency in 2022. However, they are more cautious of their spending due to high living costs. Source: IAB Australia.

In conclusion, Aussies shop online quite a lot, with 14-and-above-year-olds being more involved and some groups of people shopping at least 52 times each year.

For Households

In this segment, we showcase how frequently households shopped on the Internet:

• Each month in 2023, around 5.6 million households purchased an item on the web. Additionally, about 14% (one out of seven) of households in Australia shopped on the internet weekly. Source: Australia Post.
• There was a 2% increase in the number of household consumers who shopped online 26 to 51 times annually in 2023. Source: Australia Post.
• 9.4 million households in Australia made online purchases in 2022. That’s 82% of the households in the country, a 1.6% jump from 2021. Source: Australia Post
• In 2023, 80 out of 100 households in the Australian market made web purchases, which is equivalent to over 9.5 million households. This is a 1.4% increase compared to the previous year. Source: Australia Post.

In conclusion, the number of households making purchases on the web each year is increasing. Although the increment may just be a little, the compound growth matters. 

For Australian Regions

The regional category looks at the purchasing frequency of different parts in Australia. Find out which areas have the most purchases below:

• Internet shopping has grown by 18% in regional areas and 16% in metro areas since 2019. Source: Australia Post.
• In 2023, the highest year-over-year growth in online sales came from Western Australia, with a 5.1% jump. Meanwhile, there was a 4.6% increase in purchases in the Nothern Territory, a 4.3% jump in both Queensland and Tasmania and a 2.8% rise in South Australia compared to 2022. On the other hand, purchases in Victoria and New South Wales dropped by 1.0% and 2.1% respectively. Source: Australia Post.

Internet sales in most areas have grown, especially on the regional side and in Western Australia.

Generational Data

The table below indicates how much four generations spent on ecommerce in 2023:

Generation	Internet Shopping in 2023	Details (Source: Australia Post)
Gen Z	$10.6 billion	In 2023, Gen Z Aussies’ internet spending reached $10.6 billion.
Gen Y(Millennials)	$22.1 billion	In 2023, spending by many shoppers from Gen Y reached $22.1 billion.
Gen X	$17.5 billion	Online spending in 2023 from Gen X reached $17.5 billion.
Baby Boomers	$12.5 billion	Internet spending in 2023 from Baby Boomers reached $12.5 billion. That’s almost $1 billion more than what they spent in 2022 on online shopping.

Impact of Cost of Living

In this section, you will discover how much the cost of living affects Australians’ purchase decisions. These statistics expose whether people dropped or increased their online purchases because of financial pressure. 

• 40% of online shoppers between 18 and 39 years of age bought more items in the same period of increasing living costs. Source: IAB Australia
• 74% of Aussies (up 8% from last year) agree that the living cost pressure means they have to reduce their spending on non-essential retail items. Source: IAB Australia
• 70% of Aussies (up 5% from last year) are cautious about spending due to interest rate increases. Source: IAB Australia.
• About one-third of internet buyers purchased more items on the internet due to the increase in living costs in their main country. Source: IAB Australia
• Overall, 32% of Aussies did more online shopping, while 19% reduced their shopping rate. Source: IAB Australia
• The younger generations reduced their web payments due to financial pressure. Source: Australia Post.
• The last reason why 77% of shoppers buy from their favourite brand is value for money in 2023 — a 7% decrease from last year. On the other hand, 37% buy from brands that address the pressure of living costs. Source: IAB Australia

Although Aussies still love to shop online, they are now more cautious of their spending, especially on non-basic items. The rising cost of living has impacted their buying power. 

Popular Products and Retailers

We list statistics that are based on what people buy most on the web. For example, you get to know how much people buy items like fashion and electronics and where they shop from. 

• The most common items that were purchased online in 2023 were fashion-related. Source: IAB Australia
• Food and liquor stores also saw an increase in ecommerce transactions in 2023. The industry saw a total spend of $13.2 billion because more people shop for groceries.  Source: Australia Post
• For the first time, prescription medication was part of the list of most highly consumed products, with 20% of Aussies buying medicine online, notably from Chemist Warehouse. Source: IAB Australia
• In 2023, Amazon remained the most commonly used internet retailer. JB Hi-Fi is also viewed as a major player in the Australian ecommerce market. Source: IAB Australia
• Amazon in Australia had 56.2 million visits in 2023, with visitors mostly from the country itself (87%) and a yearly revenue that is over $1 billion. Source: Dropshipping XL

The Australian e-commerce market seems to be in favour of fashion brands as that’s where the most money goes, with Amazon being the top online marketplace.  

Purchasing Drivers

Here, you will learn the most important factors Australians consider before they buy a product online. It will also help you understand Aussies’ shopping habits. Check out the ecommerce Australia statistics in the four subcategories below:

Convenience

In 2022, the major reason why Australians would buy from a brand is convenience, so let’s see how that went in 2023:

• The number one reason why Aussies shop online is still convenience, but it has decreased by 10% in importance compared to 2022. More shoppers (about 10% more than in 2022) look for discounts, and about 8% more than in 2022 do price comparisons before buying.  Source: IAB Australia
• 57 out of 100 Aussies agree that they would spend extra for products that will give them convenience — a 7% jump compared to 2022. Source: IAB Australia
• 66 out of 100 shoppers between the ages of 30 and 39 would still pay extra for convenience even though they are more affected by the growing living cost. Source: IAB Australia.

In 2023, Australians still choose to buy products mostly because of convenience and discounts. So, if you were to own a business in Australia, you should think of how to make things easy for them. 

Sustainability

Green shopping has become a trend over the years, so we’ve listed some statistics to reflect the interest of Aussies in ethical brands:

• 45% of active web shoppers believe in the importance of purchasing from ethical brands in 2023 — a drop of 1% compared to 46% in 2022. Source: IAB Australia
• 58 out of 100 Aussies who web shop preferred to support brands owned by Australians in 2023 —a 6% drop from 2022 (64% last year). Source: IAB Australia
• Half of the shoppers between the ages of 18 and 39 chose brands owned by Australians in 2023. Source: IAB Australia
• 69 out of 100 shoppers between the ages of 60 to 70 favoured brands owned by Aussies in 2023. Source: IAB Australia

As you can see, more Aussies would love to buy from ethical brands and Australia-owned brands rather than from abroad. 

Shopping Experience and Delivery

In this section, you will see statistics on how shoppers make decisions based on delivery methods and their experience with a brand:

• Shoppers in 2023 have become selective with their purchasing decisions, with 6% more people choosing fast shipping and another 6% more choosing the click-and-collect option than the previous year. Compared to 2022, 6% more also want more access to some brands and products, and 4% more want products that are exclusive to online buyers. Source: IAB Australia
• In 2021, the most important factor that 56% of Aussies considered before making a purchase was free shipping. Source: Statista
• Omnichannel presence has helped 60% of businesses drive better customer engagement. Free returns are a great strategy to implement when increasing traffic to physical stores. Source: Australia Post
• To become more discoverable, businesses need to increase their use of online channels, as almost every Australian internet user visits a retail online store. It’s also important to consider creating a positive omnichannel experience for consumers. Source: IAB Australia
• 78 out of 100 Australians believe that loyalty programs would better their customer experience. Source: Australia Post

In conclusion, the Australian customer buys based on how fast they can receive their products and if they have a positive, unified experience.

Ethical and Sustainable Shopping

Source: Freepik

In the previous section, we highlighted ethical shopping as one of the reasons Australians buy from a brand. Therefore, in this section, we summarise in a table the percentage of Aussies willing to spend extra on a sustainable business. See the statistics below:

Generation	Percentage	Details (Source: Australia Post)
Gen Z	75%	75% of Gen Z Aussies would pay an extra $20 for eco-conscious products.
Gen Y	65%	65% of Gen Y Australian consumers would spend an extra $20 for eco-conscious products.
Gen X	51%	51% of Gen X Aussies would spend an extra $20 on sustainable products.
Baby Boomers	38%	38% of Baby Boomers would pay an extra $20 for sustainable products.

Indeed, Australians would want to pay more for sustainable products, with Gen Z prioritising this trend the most. 

Subscription Services

In this category, we address the percentage of internet shoppers that use subscription or delivery services. Find some ecommerce Australia statistics for subscription services below: 

• 24 out of 100 Australians who are shopping online are subscribed to a delivery service like cleaning products, food, or wind delivery. Source: IAB Australia
• 53 out of 100 Aussies who previously subscribed to delivery services have unsubscribed in 2023. Source: IAB Australia
• Shoppers who are still subscribed to a product delivery service are between the ages of 18 and 39 (31% of them). Source: IAB Australia

The trend of subscription services fluctuates among Australian online shoppers and is mostly common to younger customers. 

Seasonal Sales and Return Policies

Source: Freepik

See how sales events like Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Boxing Day affect the average revenue a business makes. On top of that, we also share stats about return policy trends. 

• In terms of ecommerce, Australia saw an 88% increase in Black Friday purchases compared to 2019. Source: Australia Post.
• Cyber Monday sales excelled in 2023 with a 70% in online purchases compared to 2019. Source: Australia Post.
• 43 out of 100 Australian online retailers increased the minimum purchase amount for free shipping in 2023. Source: Australia Post.
• The ‘No return’ policy didn’t affect 82% of Australian shoppers as they continued to buy final sale items. Source: Australia Post.
• In 2023, Boxing Day witnessed a 67% growth in web purchases while End of the Financial Year Sales (EOFYs) saw a 75% increase in 2019. Source: Australia Post.
• It has become important for products and services to have a smooth return or refund policy as almost 76 out of 100 online shoppers check the return policy of the website before they buy. In 2023, ASOS Australia also started a return fee of AUD 8.99 seeing that other brands like Zara were doing the same. Source: Australia Post.
• Just 28 out of 100 businesses in ecommerce Australia integrate final sales with their marketing. This is because although it urges customers to buy, it may cause them inconvenience. After all, they can’t return the item. Source: Australia Post.

It’s becoming more important to have a smooth return policy because more internet shoppers want to know if and how they can return their items before buying.

Payment Methods and Spending

Source: Freepik

In this section, you will learn how Aussies make payments online. For example, you will find out how many of them still pay in cash or card. In turn, this info will help you identify the most convenient payment options for your clients. 

• 23% of internet users use the buy now, pay later (BNPL) method to make payments. Source: IAB Australia
• 41% of online payments are made with a card, while 1% are made with cash, and the remainder are made with other digital payment methods like PayPal and Zip. Source: PPRO
• BNPL became widespread in 2017, with popular buy-now-pay-later services like Afterpay garnering 2.3 million customers in the following year.  Source: Australia Post
• Almost half of Australians who shop online have an account on Cashbank accounts like Shopback and Cashrewards Source: IAB Australia
• 90% of Aussies who shop online are still signed up to a minimum of one reward program, with 44% of them having at least four cards. Source: IAB Australia
• On average, an Aussie’s net sales with e-commerce merchants are approximately $1,992 annually. This metric is anticipated to reach $3,051 in 2027. Source: PPRO
• 42 out of 100 transactions in Australia are mobile, a 36% growth from 2020, which shows an increase in the average revenue from mobile phones. Source: PPRO

As you can see, more Aussies use digital payment methods to make payments, and they enjoy reward programs.