Marketplace Behaviour in Australia
Online Marketplaces are no longer a new concept. With more options than you can count, it's no surprise that they have become a mainstay in the Australian shopping landscape. And consumers are catching on - with the balance of online shopping trending towards a marketplace model ...
When it comes to the popularity of online marketplaces in Australia, they far surpass growth rates of single vertical retailers and aren't slowing down any time soon.
Data based on Power Retails Trajectory Report #50 [link]
This 2nd Year Anniversary Special Edition Report includes bonus insights and data from the last two years. These are fortnightly reports that draw from the aggregate, anonymised benchmarking data of over 10 million online sessions per month from a broad cross-section of Australian online retailers, plus fortnightly survey data collected from a panel of over 1 million online shoppers. Well worth the fortnightly Market Update provided by Natasha Sholl.
Marketplace Behaviour in Australia
The majority of Australian online shoppers have shopped on Amazon in the last year, making it the most popular online marketplace. eBay follows closely behind, with Bunnings in third place. This shows that Amazon has been successful in finding its market in Australia, despite scepticism when it first launched. Catch, Facebook Marketplace and Myer all rank highly, demonstrating that there is a variety of different types of marketplaces dominating the Australian online shopping landscape.
Bunnings remains one of Australia's most trusted brands and amasses a staggering 35m visits per month on average to their platform. Making it the most visited national retailer website in Australia. We can expect this to continue to grow as it's just behind eBay and Amazon.
Respondents saying they have shopped there in the last year
- Amazon - 60%
- eBay - 58%
- Bunnings - 57%
- Catch - 45%
- Facebook - 39%
- Myer - 35%
When are consumers most likely to shop at marketplaces?
For consumer electronics, 50 percent of surveyed respondents say this is one of their preferred categories of purchase. In second place is Home & Garden (47%), and in third place is Fashion (39%).
Fashion accounts for the largest amount of single vertical eCommerce sales as the most popular category for online purchases overall. This data shows that there is a slightly different focus when it comes to online marketplaces in Australia. Categories like Health, Food & Drink, and Fitness are less popular (c. 19 - 20 percent).
Most Popular Online Marketplace Categories
- Electronics - 50%
- Home & Garden - 47%
- Fashion - 39%
- Health - 20%
- Food & Drink - 19%
- Fitness - 19%
What is driving this online marketplace spend?
Prices take the cake. 60% of respondents say that having better prices than non-variety stores is the leading reason they shop variety. Coming in second is cheaper delivery options. At 47% remains the second most popular reason to shop marketplaces. This makes a lot of sense since 41% of respondents saying they have an Amazon Prime membership
eBay takes 17% of the responding pool with the popularity of its eBay Plus membership. Almost half (42%) of online customers queried say they don’t have a marketplace membership. Wesfarmers brands (Target, Catch & KMart) One Pass will start to grow in this space as they still maintain the largest share of wallet through their diversified retail portfolio.
Sales events (47%) also drive online marketplace spend. Product range, which many would assume would be the leading driver comes in 4th place for consumers (45%).
Marketplace Spend Drivers
- Prices - 60%
- Cheaper Delivery - 47%
- Sales Events - 47%
- Product Range - 45%
Online Marketplaces are no longer a new concept. With more options than you can count, it's no surprise that they have become a mainstay in the Australian shopping landscape. And consumers are catching on - with the balance of online shopping trending towards a marketplace model over single vertical or brand.
About Mike Fowler
Mike is an eCommerce veteran, senior leader & growth strategist for some of Australia's best retailers. Formerly at Afterpay as Director of Merchant Services APAC, General Manager and founder of the growth team at Mosaic Brands (Noni B Group) developing and launching 9 iconic multi-category online marketplaces, including: Noni B, Rockmans, Millers, and Rivers, as well as Head of Digital at Blue Illusion. Member of the Australia Post Customer Advisory Group with more than 15 years experience in helping retailers leverage eCommerce, CX, payments, & logistics opportunities to maximise growth.
