Its been reported that an online Retail Monitor survey conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings, which canvassed 750 adult internet users by email in the month from December to January found that 87% of Australians researched goods or services online. Online shopping purchases were made by 54% of the surveyed group with an average purchase of around $570.

With time and convenience becoming more important to consumers, online shopping offers the ease of comparison of products and prices without burning boot leather or having to find a parking space. Other reasons for online shopping sucess is that online retailers mostly deliver products at a cheaper price because there is less staff and no expensive retail premises costs associated with online retailing.

The survey found that the most popular online purchase was airline tickets. A comparison of a similar survey in New Zealand found that the Kiwi’s actually showed higher levels of online research, higher levels of purchases and higher average sale however my wife has explained that they need to spend more on airline tickets to come to Australia to shop.