- January 2021 eCommerce insights (PDF 649kB)
- December 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 468kB)
- November 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 466kB)
- October 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 580kB)
- September 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 730kB)
- August 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 975kB)
- May 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 774kB)
- February 2020 eCommerce insights (PDF 4.4MB)
Key eCommerce insights
Australian online shopping reached an all-time high in 2020, with online purchases growing 57% year-on-year1. An average of 1 million additional households shopped online every month compared to 2019 – reaching $50.46 billion total spend at the online checkout.2
Online share of retail spend hit 16.3% (excluding cafes, restaurants and takeaway food), outperforming the pre-pandemic predictions of 12-13%.2
YOY growth
Metro purchases up 60%1
Regional purchases up 50.7%1
Shopping frequency
On average, one million additional households shopped online each month in 2020, compared to 20191
First timers
1.36 million Aussies shopped online for the first time in 20203
The phenomenal rise of online shopping in 2020
Due to lockdowns and social distancing, people had little choice but to do more online. Behaviours changed, from how people shop for everyday goods, to how they pay for them.
April saw the first significant spike in online growth. Food & Liquor items and Home & Garden purchases more than doubled compared to 2019, and were the only categories which saw triple digit growth twice in 2020.
Use the graph below to explore eCommerce performance by state and category1.
eCommerce is maturing in Australia
Online shopping participation in Australia increased significantly in 2020. Around four in five households – that’s 9 million – bought something online at some point in the year.1
Home & Garden retailers saw one of the largest increases in participation, with over 1.6 million households buying from them in August and again in November.
Use the graph below to compare household participation throughout the year by category1.
Charting Australia's eCommerce trends
Australia Post’s free eCommerce industry report provides a comprehensive view of the landscape in Australia. Dive into our nationwide deliveries data, along with the experiences of retailers as they navigated the phenomenal rise of eCommerce in 2020.
How have shopping behaviours changed?
Who are Australia's new online shoppers?
How does Australia's eCommerce market compare to the world leaders?
Download the 2021 Inside Australian Online Shopping Report.
The future of eCommerce is bright
The events of 2020 had a profound effect on consumer behaviour and possibly their future expectations. Explore how retailers are responding to soaring eCommerce take-up in Australia.
How Cue took customer connection online
Cue Clothing’s CIO, Shane Lenton, shares how COVID drove the creation of an online experience that mirrors the personal connection of in-store styling.
eBay’s perspective on what COVID-19 means for the future of retail
Tim MacKinnon shares eBay's insights into the changing needs of the nation through the goods they were purchasing in 2020.
How Mary Maker created a crafting movement
When lockdown forced Mary Maker Studio to temporarily close its studio-based workshops, Brydie Stewart focused on growing her online community.
Previous reports
1 Insights based on the extrapolation of 2019 and 2020 parcels data recorded by the Australia Post Group, unless otherwise stated. A full description of the methodology is available in Australia Post’s 2021 Inside Australian Online Shopping report or can be viewed on our website.
2 Online Physical Goods Index (produced by Quantium), and ABS Retail Trade s.a. excluding cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services, Feb 2021
3 New online shoppers are defined as residential households that did not receive an eCommerce parcel in the previous 12-month period while regular shoppers are residential households that received an eCommerce parcel in 2019 and 2020.
