Shoppers down under prefer using PCs to make purchases
Online shopping has hit the mainstream in Australia, according to a July 2012 report conducted by PricewaterhouseCooopers for market research and analysis firm Frost & Sullivan. The study found that 53% of individuals in Australia ages 15 and older had shopped via the web, and that revenue from online shopping in the country was expected to hit AU$16 billion ($16.5 billion) in 2012. Business-to-consumer online commerce will steadily climb over the next four years, totaling AU$26.9 billion ($27.7 billion) by 2016.
Consumers in Australia who are making online purchases cited price as the main factor driving them to shop on the web. And buyers showed a strong preference for using PCs to make a purchase, leaving smartphone and tablet users with a lot of room to grow. In fact, 81% of online shoppers in Australia made their purchase on a laptop or desktop, compared with 34% who used a mobile phone and 17% who bought items on a tablet.
But purchases made on tablets are likely to grow as device penetration increases. Frost & Sullivan in August 2012 estimated tablet ownership would grow from 13% in 2012, to 29% in 2017.
And as the practice of online shopping becomes more common, retailers will rack up the conversions. eMarketer projects that the number of online buyers in Australia will hit 11.5 million by 2016.
Corporate subscribers have access to all eMarketer analyst reports, articles, data and more. Join the over 750 companies already benefiting from eMarketer’s approach. Learn more.
Check out today’s other articles, “Consumer Electronics Purchase Path Upended” and “Jamba Juice Embraces Diverse Approaches to Mobile Payments.”