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Internet Retail Is Now Mainstream
Monday, 15 April 2013 | Muhammad Awais
For those who are wondering when Internet retail is going to go mainstream, it’s already too late.
Over 10,000,000 Australians purchased something online last year – that’s a significant portion of the adult population of this country.
This trend, which is reflected across the planet to a greater or lesser degree, has been strongly building for the last decade. In 2012, global online sales climbed around 50% to $1.3 Trillion, with the US leading the charge at $365 Billion and Australia a respectable $36 Billion. That’s over $3,500 spent by each one of those Australian shoppers, second only to the UK in terms of individual spend.
It is this amount of money spent by each consumer which has driven the growth. Customers who might have bought something only once or twice online in the previous 12 months, are now committing to multiple and higher value purchases. With the high Australian dollar, there’s plenty of travelling to do and that’s a key driver of this figure. My 80-year-old mother books her planes and accommodation on her iPad – like I’m saying, this is no longer a geeky fad.
It’s happening across the board as more and more industries and market niches lift their online performance and persuade their customers to trust them from a distance. That’s always going to be a struggle, but it’s easier now that consumers are more experienced with the overall industry. New brands are emerging, and while it’s not clear which will survive, and which of the established brands will falter, what we do know is that there will be significant change.
There are still some horror stories, and plenty of willingness from vested (or merely conservative) interests to emphasise the negative ahead of the positive. But the sheer number of Australians, who are involved in this way of doing business, shows that consumers are becoming increasingly satisfied with the convenience and reliability of online stores.
As a company that has been selling online to the public for almost 8 years, we certainly appreciate the loyalty of our customers as our business has evolved and grown
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