eBay reveals Australian buying and selling insights in new report titled Lockdown: One Year On.
During periods of lockdown, younger age groups proved to be the most tech savvy with Generation Z (18-24 years old) doing more than half (57 per cent) of its shopping online. In a surprise turn, Baby Boomers (60+ years old) were quick adopters of e-commerce, posting the biggest increase (69 per cent) on pre-pandemic figures.
eBay Australia’s Managing Director, Tim MacKinnon says, “We have witnessed the rapid acceleration of e-commerce first hand. There are now an extra one-million shoppers heading to eBay since the pandemic began, bringing us to 12-million unique monthly visitors. Not having to physically go into stores and getting the best value were identified as some of the main benefits to shopping online during the pandemic with more than half (58 per cent) saying they feel safer and four in five (81 per cent) finding better deals online compared to in-store.”
National Retail Association CEO, Dominique Lamb says, “The past 12 months have been an incredibly volatile period for Australian retail with state lockdowns, ‘panic buying’ and higher levels of discretionary spending. While we saw an uptick in retail spend over the holiday period, online shopping has played a bigger part in this role than ever before.”
As many tightened the purse strings or used the extra time at home for a clear out, one in five (22 per cent) began selling pre-owned items online. More than half (52 per cent) describe their online selling as a side hustle and made an average of $4,292 selling their pre-loved goods. Meanwhile one in ten (12 per cent) either started a new business online or moved their existing business online.
The rise of agile working also played a key role in the uptick of online shopping with three in four (75 per cent) of those working flexibly admitting they had more time to have a cheeky browse online while working from home (WFH). Men were more likely than women (56 per cent compared to 44 per cent) to be shopping online while WFH as they no longer had the embarrassment of hiding deliveries from their colleagues.
MacKinnon says, “With the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, 83 per cent of people say they plan to continue shopping online as much as they are now, indicating there has been a permanent shift in the way the nation shops following the pandemic.”
Futurist Chris Riddell says, “This is without doubt the most extraordinary time to be a consumer. Over the next five years alone we will experience more innovation than we’ve seen in the last 50 years.
For more information on the shopping habits of Australians, view the full Lockdown: One Year On report here.
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