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Australia’s e-commerce market has been witnessing high growth during the past few years, supported by growing Internet penetration, availability of secure online payment systems as well as increasing number of online shoppers. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the shift from offline to online sales and subsequently the market is expected to reach A$91.5bn (US$70bn) in 2025, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
According to GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics, e-commerce sales in Australia, which grew by 16.8% in 2020, are estimated to grow by 13.4% to reach A$60.6bn (US$46.7bn) in 2021.
While sectors such as travel and accommodation were affected due to the lockdown and travel restrictions, a strong growth was seen in online purchases of retail goods such as grocery and electronics.
Shivani Gupta, Banking and Payments Senior Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The pandemic accelerated e-commerce activities in the country as wary consumers are staying home to avoid exposing themselves to disease vectors. This trend will continue driven by rise in new online shoppers.”
As Australian consumers continue to embrace online shopping, it will support the growth of electronic payments. According to GlobalData’s 2021 Financial Services Consumer Survey* for online purchases, payment cards account for 37.2% of all the e-commerce sales in Australia. Alternative payment solutions such as PayPal, POLi, Afterpay and Apple Pay collectively account for 43.3%.
‘Buy now, pay later’ is a popular payment option among Australians, particularly millennials. According to GlobalData survey, Afterpay accounts for 7.7% of total e-commerce payments in 2021.
Ms Shivani concludes: “The pandemic has brought a permanent shift in consumer buying behavior from in-store to online shopping, which has accelerated digital payments adoption and benefiting alternative payment solutions.”