Lockdown Fuels Amazon Australia Purchases

The report found that Australians who have shopped previously with Amazon has grown by more than 50 percent from 2019 and 2020, from 30 percent to 47 percent.

Thirty percent of those who purchased from Amazon Australia in the last 12 months said that the pandemic-induced lockdowns are the main reason why these purchases were made from the marketplace.

In a further study from SimilarWeb, monthly traffic to the e-commerce marketplace has risen by 49.5 percent from February to July this year.

The Pattern report found that 27 percent of Amazon shoppers said that the marketplace has helped consumers during the periods of lockdown.

“We were already aware that lockdown had driven shoppers online, but these findings show that this change is not temporary. Online retailers and brands need to ensure their customer acquisition strategies are up to scratch to capture customers who will be buying more online, and from different retailers, than normal for the rest of 2020 and beyond,” said Merline McGregor, the General Manager of Praciticology.

“In particular, Amazon AU has benefited from the closure of physical stores and has impressed consumers with its growing product selection, availability and delivery capability through lockdown. Australian retailers who may not have considered it a strong competitor in the past need to look again, and brands who want to grow their online sales channels should consider whether it can deliver incremental sales.”

While this boom is clearly a result of the pandemic, which saw stores shut across the country for six weeks, and remains shut across the city of Melbourne, the question arises about the future of e-commerce and online popularity.

While 31 percent of shoppers said they were shopping less as a result of the pandemic, 53 percent said they were spending more online than ever before. Overall, 65 percent said they have bought more online in 2020, with the report showing that online sales would have grown this year even without lockdown. However, the pandemic has accelerated an existing trend.

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