The Australian eCommerce market continues to grow at a fast pace and is an excellent opportunity for online retailers. The online retail industry in Australia is expected to grow 40% by 20121. The relatively easy tax and tariff structure, high percentage of consumers with internet access and high demand for global goods create a perfect climate for eCommerce retailers to present their product offering to the Australian consumer.
There are nearly 10 million Australian consumers shopping online and that number is growing by 100,000 consumers each year 2. It is estimated that 80% of the population has internet access3 and that figure also continues to increase. With a highly wired population and demand for international goods, the market for eCommerce retailers is wide open.
The average Australian online consumer spent AU$2,446 in the past year4 at eCommerce sites. This high disposable income is another reason for the growth in online sales in Australia. Australian consumers are very eager for international goods, spending 40% of all dollars spent online on sites based out-of-country5.
When planning to market to Australian consumers, retailers need to consider the audience and shopping experience. The checkout experience and process must be comfortable and transparent to the Australian consumer. It is important for consumers to know the fully landed costs at checkout, especially in the Australian dollar. This helps prevent shopping cart abandonment and items abandoned on delivery.
TradeGlobal provides a simple, domestic-like online shopping experience for international customers by providing customizable support solutions that meet consumer expectations. TradeGlobal provides the fully landed costs via a web service call from the site. This cost is displayed in both Australian and U.S. dollars to the consumer at checkout, avoiding any confusion that leads to shopping cart abandonment. TradeGlobal also integrates easily with most web platforms at virtually no cost to the retailer.
Based on TradeGlobal’s current clients’ experiences in the Australian eCommerce market, consumers are very receptive to purchasing products from global retailers using the TradeGlobal system at checkout. TradeGlobal customers have seen orders to Australia increase by as much as 102% when comparing the first half of 2010 to the first half of 2011. This shows the increasing demand by Australian consumers for global products online.
A carefully executed eCommerce strategy can open new doors to the fast-growing Australian eCommerce marketplace. Providing fully landed costs, local currency at checkout, and a friendly, domestic-like shopping and checkout experience are keys to success in Australia eCommerce and around the globe.