As the battle between traditional bricks and mortar and online retail rages on, it’s clear there has never been a better time to establish an e-commerce business.
Online retail continues to go from strength to strength – new research shows the e-commerce market has grown 162 per cent in the last year alone.
E-commerce platform Bigcommerce.com found that Australia is at the forefront of the online revolution, both in the number of online stores and the amount consumers spend online.
Mitchell Harper, co-CEO of Bigcommerce, believes the growth is a result of investment in e-commerce tools.
“Just a few short years ago, entrepreneurs needed a five-figure budget to launch a professional online store, but today all you need is a few hundred dollars and a few hours,” he said.
While bricks and mortar stores are increasingly creating e-commerce platforms to supplement the traditional retail side of their business, the growth of online stores in Australia is also being led by people who also have separate jobs.
These entrepreneurs are burning the midnight oil to run their e-commerce businesses – the research found that almost half of all activity logged is taking place between 5pm and 9am.
The increase in stores reflects the increase in spending.
The National Australia Bank’s latest Online Retail Sales Index found that Australians spent $13.5 billion online in the past year. This is approximately 6 per cent of traditional bricks and mortar retail spending.
The average price of online orders around the world is $116, while Australians are spending approximately $143, up 20 percent from 2011.
“Many of the retail giants in the country are complaining endlessly about a lack of consumer confidence. Our data across thousands of stores actually shows that Australian online shoppers spend more per order than anyone else in the world,” Eddie Machaalani, co-CEO of Bigcommerce said.
What’s more, the bulk of spending is being done on mobile and tablet platforms.
Sales via the iPad, iPhone, and Android mobile devices each jumped almost 350 percent or more since last year.
