Four in ten Australian Consumers Conduct Shopping Research Online
As one in four purchase a product in the past month
Travel the most popular online purchase category
Online consumers in Australia are becoming more active in their online shopping habits, particularly for purchasing, comparing prices, looking up product information and engaging with other consumers via social media, according to a just released study on the influence of digital media on shopping habits and intentions by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy.
The Nielsen report found that more than one in four online consumers in Australia (42%) conducted research online; such as checking prices or reading a consumer view. Looking for deals online was also popular among one in four (40%) while 34 percent purchased a product online in the past month. Amongst Australian consumers who engaged in e-commerce activities – 36 percent intended to purchase Travel reservations, closely followed by Entertainment (30%) and Books, Newspapers, Magazines (25%). Among the other products and services which appear to be increasingly sought online were Apparel /Accessories/ (21%), Food & Beverages (18%) and Skin Care/Cosmetics (16%) “These digital shopping trends coincide with the changing shopping habits among Australians, who in our most recent Nielsen Global survey recorded the lowest consumer confidence levels since the GFC. Not surprisingly, in an environment of ongoing economic uncertainty, combined with growing concerns over energy prices, we have seen a more cost conscious, savvy consumer emerging. With easy access to an escalating choice of online shopping options, social media discussions and price comparisons on brands, today’s consumers are far more empowered in their purchase decision making” notes Matt Bruce, Managing Director, Media Practice Group at Nielsen Australia.
“Australia is a mature retail market, well served with competitive bricks and mortar retailers, and so online transactional activity has not yet attracted regular conduct across a large proportion of the online population. For this reason, many traditional Retailers have resisted or been slow to embrace e-commerce marketing and need to gain a better understanding of online consumer behaviour; and how to approach and develop their business to this major change in the retail landscape.
With more Australian consumers now harnessing the convenience and cost efficencies of e-commerce across a broadening range of products and services, we are currently researching online retailing trends as part of a major Online Retail report which will be released later in 2012. Based on our initial findings, it’s clear that the market can expect a continuation and escalation of consumers adding online retailers to their repertoire of traditional bricks and mortar stores- and in some cases replacing them altogether.”
About the Nielsen Global Survey
The Nielsen Global Survey of Digital’s Influence on Grocery Shopping was conducted February 10-27, 2012 and polled more than 28,000 online consumers in 56 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The sample has quotas based on age and sex for each country based on their Internet users, and is weighted to be representative of Internet consumers and has a maximum margin of error of ±0.6%. This Nielsen survey is based on the behavior of respondents with online access only. The Nielsen Global Survey was established in 2005.
