Australians’ online behaviours and favourable demographics create the right conditions for Amazon to be successful, a new report from Hitwise and OFX has revealed.
Australian’s Online Shopping Behaviour and The impact of Amazon's entrance examines the current eCommerce landscape in Australia following the launch of Amazon locally.
Key insights around the Australian online consumer revealed that:
- Over 50% of Australians over the age of 14 have purchased products online
- Over 25% buy products on mobile devices at least monthly
- The age brackets of those online are largest in the 25-34 and 35-44 groups: key consumption years.
Findings revealed that once Amazon has improved its product inventory and shipping options it will be more formidable in the local market.
Until then, consumers will continue to use the online sources they currently favour to find the products they want and must be prepared to pay more for shipping and wait longer for package receipt.
The Australian retail environment will change and is likely to remain strong with a consumer benefit of improved pricing and greater choice.
The report also stated that Australian consumers are perfectly poised to embrace a multi-channel retail experience even while there is plenty of room for improvement in today’s online to offline capabilities.
Brick and mortar retailers will likely rise to this challenge with better instore experiences including focusing on click-and-collect options.
This will benefit the major metropolitan areas but still leaves those located in remote parts of the country in the same position they are in today.
A key area of the report surrounded the importance of retail brand loyalty.
Using Australian department stores as an example, research revealed that nearly 50% of visitors to David Jones also visited Myer, whilst only 33% of Myer visitors also visited David Jones.
This suggests a higher brand equity for Myer and also shows that consumers - even when they prefer one brand - are also open to using other brands.
Retail brand loyalty will account for some consumer preference, however, consumers can be won over.