Australians Set New Shopping Records Despite Economic Challenges

Despite economic challenges and cost-of-living pressures, Australians had a strong Christmas season, with Australia Post setting a new record of nearly 103 million parcels delivered in the last two months of 2024.

According to the latest quarterly Inside Australian Online Shopping Report on Jan. 23, there was a 3.1 percent increase from the previous year.

Health and wellness products showed the highest growth of 20.5 percent in online purchases compared to the previous year.

Athleisure and tools and garden items also experienced significant growth, increasing by 15.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively.

During November and December, Australian households received 2,800 parcels every minute.

About 7.6 million households made at least one online purchase, marking a 2.4 percent increase from the same period last year.

Strong Growth in Regional Areas

While shoppers nationwide participated in online sales events, the Northern Territory saw a 12.4 percent increase, Tasmania by 11.4 percent, and South Australia by 8.9 percent, experiencing the strongest year-on-year growth.

Queensland’s Mackay and Toowoomba, along with Victoria’s Point Cook, were the top suburbs for online shopping nationally.

Gary Starr, Executive General Manager of Parcel, Post, and eCommerce services at Australia Post, revealed that the company delivered over 3 million parcels on its busiest day, Dec. 9, and maintained over 2 million daily deliveries for more than 30 days.

“Retailers have a tremendous opportunity to learn from and capitalize on the growing appetite for online shopping, especially during key sales events,” Starr noted.

He highlighted that the record-breaking cyber weekend (Nov. 29– Dec. 2, 2024) saw a 7.8 percent increase in online purchases compared to the previous year.

Online Shopping Becomes Regular Habit for Australians

A survey by insurer Budget Direct found that around 38 percent of respondents make monthly online purchases, 30 percent shop fortnightly, and 21 percent do so weekly.

The survey polled almost 1,000 Australians.

Women were slightly more likely to shop online frequently, with 23 percent shopping weekly and 31 percent fortnightly, compared to men, with 19 percent shopping weekly and 29 percent fortnightly.

Men, however, were more likely to make monthly or rare online purchases.

Meanwhile, the 2024 Global Digital Insights report found that 52.8 percent of internet users made online purchases, with 23.1 percent buying groceries online.

Australia’s e-commerce spending reached a record $56.07 billion in 2024, with fashion leading at $11.64 billion.

Catch.com.au Shuts Down

The surge in online shopping has intensified competition in the Australian e-commerce sector, contributing to the closure of Catch.com.au.

The company struggled to maintain growth amid rising competition from new entrants like Shein and Temu, which entered the market in 2022 and 2023, alongside giants like Amazon.

Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott said Catch’s financial performance has struggled due to rising competition in Australia’s e-commerce sector.