Your Window to Australia: Five insights to help navigate the eCommerce opportunity

The eCommerce opportunity in Australia is expanding at a rapid rate – and reshaping shoppers’ priorities, preferences and habits as it goes. This is a market where consumers are quickly gaining confidence in their ability to use technology to open up a wider range of products and services. To take advantage of this opportunity, businesses must demonstrate that they align with Australians’ sense of purpose around sustainability – and provide a compelling reason for buying across borders.

Australia has embraced shopping online

The experience of the pandemic has fired Australians’ appetite for shopping online, with 81% of households buying something online during 2021 – and the number of online purchases up 73% between 2019 and 2021. Significantly, 93% say that they’ll maintain or increase their online shopping activity in 2022[1]. In Australia, a receding Covid wave and the end of lockdowns has left a permanent change in shopping habits. 

Online shoppers currently purchase more products locally than the global average – but they also have an eye for promotions and price incentives, and this creates an opportunity for search advertisers looking to extend their campaigns into the market. Merchant Promotions promote products from Microsoft Shopping Campaigns with special offer tags to increase visibility, drive engagement – and incentivize cross-border shopping.

The PC is the touchpoint connecting work and life

For Australians, online experiences are predominantly PC experiences. Close to three quarters of Australians (72%) own a PC, and for 52% of the population, that PC sits in a home office where they now do their work[2]. In this way, Australia epitomizes the rise of Workday Consumers, a rapidly growing global audience of people who use the same, shared PC for both their personal and professional lives. Rather than switching between modes at set times of day, they’re comfortable mixing up work and home-related to-do lists and are always open to suggestions and solutions for both. Between 2019 and 2021, the times that Australians spent shopping online shifted from evenings towards afternoons, with an 11% drop in purchases made from 7pm to 10pm and an equivalent rise in those made between 2pm and 5pm[1].

Targeting high income earners unlocks opportunity

Australians are more likely than the global average to be high income earners[3], and one in three Australian shoppers on the Microsoft network fall into this category[3]. Innovative approaches to targeting can often unlock opportunity within this segment. Adding a layer of LinkedIn Profile Targeting to its Microsoft Advertising campaigns enabled the digital loan provider Harmoney to filter its targeting in Australia and New Zealand by company, job function and industry – focusing on those most likely to meet the eligibility criteria for its products.

Think beyond the stereotypes to target interest and intent

The world’s image of Australians revolves around a sports-mad country where competitiveness and keeping fit are part of everyone’s daily routine. In fact, data shows that Australians are significantly less likely than the global average to go running or visit a gym, and of the top five sports Australians play only one (tennis) is adopted more widely within the country than it is worldwide[3]. Sport and outdoor lifestyles still represent a huge market opportunity within Australia, but the key to leveraging that opportunity is targeting by intent and interest. Advertisers can use In-Market Audiences, made up of those who’ve demonstrated active, recent interest in your product category, to reach beyond national stereotypes and reach those with a genuine affinity with different lifestyles.

Environmental purpose shapes responses to products and services

Australians are some of the most motivated shoppers on Earth when it comes to the environmental impact of what they buy. In fact, 80% agree that, “If I learned that the products or services I use are damaging the environment, I would stop using those products or services.”[4] Three out of four Australians consider some element of sustainability when they shop online, one in four have chosen a brand because of its ethics and sustainable practices, and 60% are willing to pay more for sustainable or ethically made products[1].

Signaling the sustainability of products through search, display and native ads can play a key role in standing out for Australia’s online shoppers – and driving both clicks and conversions. Microsoft has created a Marketing with Purpose Learning Path consisting of six episodes and a total duration of two hours, which includes valuable tips and tactics for demonstrating your sustainability credentials.

If you’re ready to start scaling your campaigns into Australia, reach out to your account team, or sign up to Microsoft Advertising to get started with the platform.

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Sources:

[1] Australia Post. (2022). 2022 Inside Australian Online Shopping eCommerce Industry Report [Data set]. Australia Post. Retrieved from https://auspost.com.au

[2] Australian Communications and Media Authority. (2020). Trends in online behaviour and technology usage. [Data set]. ACMA. Retrieved from: https://acma.gov.au

[3] GWI. (2020). Market Snapshot: Australia [Data set]. GWI. Retrieved from https://globalwebindex.com

[4] Dentsu and Microsoft. (2022). The Rise of Sustainable Media [Data set]. Microsoft. Retrieved from https://about.ads.microsoft.com/