The number of over-65s shopping online has boomed in Australia over the past 12 months, a report by the National Australia Bank (NAB) shows.
According to smh.com.au, over-65s are now the fastest growing category in terms of online shopping in Australia. In the three months to April, the pace of transactions from over-65s was six times faster compared to shoppers in the 35 – 44 age bracket. This is an impressive growth, considering older Australians have so far been slow to get themselves online.
NAB believes that the older generations’ uptake of devices such as smartphones and tablets has driven the increase in online shopping. At the moment, only 8.3 per cent of online shoppers are over the age of 65; whereas the 35 – 44 group accounts for 25 per cent.
Over the 12 months to April, online spending in Australia grew 6.4 per cent. Although this growth is a positive one, it is much lower than the 23 per cent increase seen the previous year. Online spend also rose by nearly 30 per cent in 2011, reports theaustralian.com.au.
The decline could be partly because the 35 – 44 group has slowed its online spend over the past 12 months. This is attributed to a high cost of living, job concerns and mortgage stress.
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