The Australian online retail sector continues to grow, with almost 40 per cent of the population now purchasing one or more products via online per average four weeks.
The latest data released by Roy Morgan Research has revealed an overall growth in the amount of Australians shopping online, the aforementioned 40 per cent equating to 7,630,000 Australians over the age of 14.
The result highlights a sizeable increase on the results registered in 2011, when 5,704,000 people were making online purchases per average four weeks.
The Food and Beverage sector saw the most notable growth in online shoppers, almost tripling the 568,000 shoppers the sector saw in 2011 – to 1,586,000 in 2014.
Reading Material also registered impressive growth, jumping to 2,016,000 online shoppers from 1,095,000 in 2011.
“Purchased by 40 per cent of the country’s internet shoppers in an average four weeks, Entertainment and Leisure items (shows, movie tickets, events, etc) are showing no sign of being challenged for top spot as Australia’s most popular online shopping category. However, it was not the fastest growing online retail category over the last four years,” Roy Morgan Research General Manager – Consumer Products said.
”That honour belongs to Food and Beverages, a category spanning alcohol, groceries and fast food. As we reported last year, buying alcohol online is becoming increasingly popular. Last year, 577,000 Aussie adults bought alcohol over the internet in any given four weeks — comprising more than a third of the total people who purchased anything from the Food and Alcohol category.”
The online Fashion sector also grew, registering 1,936,000 shoppers per average four weeks in 2014 compared to the 1,062,000 counted in 2011.