The latest online retail sales index from the National Australia Bank has proven once again that when it comes to e-commerce, Australians just can’t get enough. Author: Deborah Bates
The latest online retail sales index from the National Australia Bank has proven once again that when it comes to e-commerce, Australians just can’t get enough.
Cited by Smh.com.au, the results showed that in February, the index grew by 26 per cent; with online sales accounting for five per cent of the $216 billion AUS (£139bn) created by retail annually.
Although a relatively small figure, the popularity of using online payment services is only set to grow; particularly as well-known bricks and mortar retailers like Myer are recording drops in profit. Harvey Norman and David Jones have done the same, perhaps losing out to online stores during recent holidays like Valentine’s Day.
Online retailers did particularly well on the loved-up holiday, reports confirmed, whilst the return of students to university or school helped boost online sales within the literary marketplace.
The overall increase in retail trade came as a surprise to some, such as chief economist Alan Oster – who represents the bank itself. He explained: “This increase was particularly notable given that February 2010 and 2011 recorded little to no growth when compared with the preceding month of January.”
In addition to the rise in online sales, Macrobusiness.com.au confirmed that sales in bricks and mortar stores fell simultaneously. Year-on-year growth for such stores stood at only 1.7 per cent.
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