- May 2021 eCommerce insights (PDF 536kB)
- April 2021 eCommerce insights (PDF 321kB)
- February 2021 eCommerce insights (PDF 264kB)
- 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 dipped 10% YOY, which is unsurprising considering the pandemic restrictions in place the same time last year. However, if we compare to May 2019, online shopping is up 47.5% YOY1.
Household participation has remained high in 2021 with over 5.1 million households buying something online during May1.
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 Super Retail Group improved customer experience
Ethan Orsini, General Manager Omni Fulfilment at Super Retail Group, shares how the surge in online shopping increased the need to own the full customer experience.
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, 2020 and 2021 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.
