Online shopping growth is reaching new highs in Victoria as Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire enter their fourth week of stage three lockdown.
According to new data from Australia Post, the first three weeks of July has seen year on year eCommerce growth of 100 per cent in Victoria. Food and liquor, home and garden products and health and beauty goods are leading the way, with all three categories growing over 100 per cent.
This peak follows a record breaking April which saw eCommerce boom as physical stores closed and people across the nation shopped from the safety and comfort of home.
Ben Franzi Australia Post General Manager Parcel & Express Services said the recent Victorian figures underlined the new norm, where online is increasingly the primary channel for many Australian shoppers.
“As we navigate our way through another period of isolation, we continue to see that once people start to buy a particular item or category of goods online they tend to continue.
“There is no doubt April was a record breaker but we’re expecting July and August to rival it, particularly in Victoria where millions of people are again jumping online for the things they need.”
Though eCommerce growth in Victoria peaked in April at 111 per cent, it had held steady at
around 77 per cent up until late June when parts of metropolitan Melbourne again faced restrictions.
“We saw numbers for the “hotspot” postcodes jump almost overnight reaching 102 per cent growth by the weekend,” said Mr Franzi.
“Even now the rest of Melbourne has moved to stage three restrictions, these postcodes are still trending well above the Victorian average.”
But it’s not just shoppers that are changing their ways, with many retailers adapting their offerings to meet current demand and continue serving their customers.
“Because everyone is at home what they are purchasing has changed dramatically, and we’re finding retailers are working hard to adapt to this – expanding their product mixes to include face masks, hand sanitisers and other in demand essentials to support not just their customers but their bottom lines as well,” Mr Franzi continued.
Across Australia, online shopping growth in June topped 72 per cent when compared to the same time last year. The top three states were Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland all achieving growth above the national average.
