Published on the 05/12/2013 | Written by Newsdesk
It seems that Australians’ love affair with online spending might be cooling with growth slowing and the average purchase dropping to just $41, which is $23 lower than it was three years ago…
Bricks might not prove as challenged by clicks as was once predicted; the latest NAB Online Retail Index which was released this week shows that Australia’s online spending for the year to the end of October is pegged at about 6.4 percent of the traditional retail market, and growth has slowed substantially.
Consumers spent $14.4 billion online during the 12 month period, with domestic retailers capturing 73 percent of the online spending. Department and variety stores captured 34 percent of all online spending.
The apparent slowdown in demand for online retail might give pause for thought to Australia’s States and Territories which are currently debating whether to lower the threshold at which the 10 percent goods and services tax is imposed.
At the moment online imports worth $1000 or less don’t attract any GST. Domestic retailers have long argued this gives their overseas peers an unfair advantage. The fact that almost four out of every five dollars spent online is trousered by domestic retailers suggests however that they are not being overly challenged by the issue.
What Australia still needs to determine is whether it will cost more to collect the GST on low priced items bought online than the revenue raised.
For retailers bent on establishing more of an omni-channel capability – selling goods and services in store, over the telephone, online and to mobile devices – the research reinforces the need for holistic information systems that properly support bricks and mortar retail along with online and mobile access.
And while mobility has been a focus during 2013 consumer enthusiasm for mobile shopping may also have been inflated according to Ovum which has surveyed more than 15,000 consumers in 15 markets and found that 68 percent still preferred to use a laptop or PC when shopping online. For companies striving to develop an omni-channel approach to sales, this research provides something of a reality check regarding the investment that they should sensibly make in terms of creating apps or mobile-dedicated websites compared to the investment in bricks and mortar focused retail operations.
