Australia’s E-Commerce in the Post-Pandemic Era

Australia's online retail sales continue to grow, however the rate of growth has fallen since the pandemic highs.  Since 1Q23, the e-commerce penetration rate has remained relatively steady hovering between 12.6% and 12.8%.

Despite the moderation in Australia’s e-commerce penetration rate, similar to other countries globally, e-commerce appears to have had a lasting effect on the trajectory of growth. Australia is 4-years ahead of its pre-COVID trend, as a higher share of Australian households are purchasing online compared to pre-pandemic.  We also look into this for other key offshore markets that have either an emerging or developed e-commerce sector, to see if they are ahead of their pre-pandemic trend line.

Our latest e-commerce report also explores the composition of what Australian consumers are purchasing online, factors driving growth, forecast e-commerce penetration rate, and the impacts on industrial and logistics property.

Further to this, we have calculated the e-commerce penetration by state – an industry first.