As restrictions and lockdowns have returned to Australian households, so has the popularity and accessibility of online shopping.
With close to 15 million people under strict lockdown laws across the country, more are turning to online shopping to access essential items such as groceries and medication.
However, essential needs are not the only products Australians are vying for. More and more have turned online as a means of entertainment throughout their time in isolation.
Australia Post’s July 2021 eCommerce insights recorded 9.1 million households shopped online between July 2020 and 30 June 2021, an increase of 5.4% compared to last year.
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Deakin University’s Department of Economics professor Ching-Jen Sun says, state and territory lockdowns and border closures have accelerated our transition from bricks-and-mortar retail to online shopping.
This acceleration hit its peak from July to October 2020, corresponding with Victoria’s lockdown, as the state experienced the highest online shopping growth of 48.9% compared to the national average of 31.8%. All other states and territories recorded a growth of at least 20% according to the Australian Post Consumer Survey.
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New South Wales led the country with the most online purchases throughout July 2021, coinciding with their most recent New South Wales lockdown, forcing the population to shop online.
A possible reason for the rise in online shopping post-pandemic is because the population are no longer saving for holidays and events as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
In a pre-pandemic world, families would partake in holidays in December and January and online sales would generally fall as a proportion of total sales. Because of state lockdowns and border closures, travel was not possible which meant that saving money was on the back of many Australian’s minds.
Subsequently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics Retail Trade survey recorded a rise in the proportion of online sales throughout summer that kept well above pre-pandemic levels.
Reasons for shopping online, 2020 vs 2021
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From data collected, shoppers said product range, convenience and price were the driving force behind their online shopping habits in 2021. This is compared to the start of the pandemic which saw product shortages and lockdown restrictions responsible for the rapid spike in online consumption.
The Retail Trade survey also links the rise in online food sales with lockdowns and subsequent restrictions, as evidence of panic buying in weekly supermarket turnover throughout states and territories in Australia.
Because of less movement throughout the country with Australia’s two most populated states under strict lockdowns, online sales are expected to hit a record high throughout August and September.
So, as COVID-19 continues to consume our country and lockdowns loom across states, online sales will continue to spike, and bricks-and-mortar stores may become a thing of the past.
(Featured Image: “Online-Shop” by Tim Reckmann | a59.de is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
