Lockdowns boost national online shopping

As COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns return, Australians are once again turning to online shopping for the things they need, with new data from Australia Post showing almost four million households have bought something online in the last fortnight - up six per cent when compared to last year.    

In the same two weeks, New South Wales accounted for over a third (35.1 per cent) of all online purchases nationally and Queensland almost a fifth. Western Australia and the Northern Territory have also grown strongly up 20.3 and 17.2 per cent respectively.  

Australia Post General Manager Parcel and Express services Ben Franzi said the growth in online shopping in areas experiencing COVID-19 restrictions was similar to the trends seen in the midst of the pandemic last year. 

“We know that when restrictions tighten people buy more online. In fact, during lockdowns online purchase growth almost doubles when compared to non-lockdown periods according to our data.  

“With this latest wave of the pandemic affecting different areas of the country, we’ve seen different growth patterns as many Australians experienced tight public health restrictions for the first time,” said Mr Franzi.

The suburbs of Austral (2170)  in News South Wales, Mooloolah (4553) in Queensland and Margaret River (6285) in Western Australia and Coconut Grove (0810) in the Northern Territory have each recorded the highest growth for their respective states in the two weeks to 3 July 2021, each growing above the national average of 11 per cent.  

On a category level, fashion and apparel, home and garden and variety stores have proved most popular with baby and pet products also in high demand by Australians in lockdown1.  

Ben Franzi said although lockdowns and border closures presented some challenges due to additional safety measures, reduced domestic flights and an increase in parcels, Australia Post remained well placed to deliver for all Australians.  

“We’ve worked incredibly hard over the last year to increase our capacity, and our posties and drivers are working tirelessly to deliver parcels to our customers every working day, while our Post Offices remain open to provide access to essential services and support communities.  

“To keep track of their deliveries I encourage all of our customers to download the Australia Post Mobile App and take advantage of the great collect and return options we have available, including the more than 500 free 24/7 Parcel lockers we have across the country,” Mr Franzi concluded.  

Online shopping growth for the 12 months to 30 June 2021 topped 31.8 per cent almost on par with the previous financial year which landed at 33.2 per cent.  

For more information and the latest eCommerce insights from Australia Post visit: auspost.com.au/einsights.