Online shopping 'down under'

Australian’s may not have to worry about avoiding bad weather when it comes to Christmas shopping, but many do shop online and for the same reasons as shoppers the world over.

by Helen Leggatt

australian%20flag.jpg Hitwise recently released figures showing that Australian Internet traffic has grown over the last month as Australian shoppers avoid queues, crowded malls and parking nightmares.

Last year Australians spent almost $8.6 billion on around 200 million Christmas gifts. This year, for the week ending 24 November, web traffic consisted of 6.34 percent visits to shopping and classifieds, up from 6.17 percent last year.

The most-used websites by Australians so far this holiday season have been eBay Australia with 29 percent market share, followed by eBay U.S, Amazon.com, Trading Post Online and Emailcash Australia. With electronics and CD’s and DVD sales already leading the way, Australia appears to be in line with general gift buying trends.

A spokeswoman for eBay Australia, Sian Kennedy, believes that another reason for people to purchase online is the sheer choice. "The good thing about somewhere like eBay... is that we've got lots of interesting things, like collectables, that people really do want," she said.