Online Shopping

Purchasing products and services through the Internet is gathering pace and according to the research by PwC and Frost & Sullivan in July 2012, 6.3% of sales in Australia, 7.3% of sales in the US and 10.7% of sales in the UK are done online. 

Further statistics can be seen in PwC and Frost & Sullivan’s Infographic.

Reasons for purchasing online include:

• eliminate driving
• no crowds
• no noise
• better selection
• better prices

Reasons for businesses going online include:

• “avoiding high rental costs (or reducing rental costs) for business premises
• comparatively low barriers to entry in terms of business establishment costs
• low barriers to geographic expansion across Australia and overseas
• reducing the amount of advertising needed to sell products
• removing the need for intermediaries and associated costs by interacting directly
• with customers.”¹

Acknowledgements:

• PwC, (2012, July), What is driving the growth of online shopping?
• ¹ Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), (2011, pg 6), [rokbox text=”Report 1— E-commerce marketplace in Australia: Online shopping”] http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib410148/CR_comp_report1-E-commerce_Marketplace_in_Australia.pdf[/rokbox]
• Voice of America, (2012, December), “E-Commerce Challenges Traditional Stores“